


In My Remains

by Mykael



Series: Knights of Gotham [2]
Category: Batman - All Media Types, Red Hood/Arsenal (Comics)
Genre: Angst, Casual Sex, Dark Past, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Eventual Relationships, Eventual Romance, Friendship, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Killing, M/M, Past Child Abuse, Self-Hatred, Unresolved Emotional Tension, Vigilantism, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-29
Updated: 2016-02-13
Packaged: 2018-05-03 23:52:41
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 17
Words: 41,759
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5311835
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mykael/pseuds/Mykael
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After his plans failed in Gotham, Jason Todd escaped, injured, to Star City to meet up with an old friend, unable to stay i Gotham. But events in Star City call for his return, and this time he intends to stay and clean up the mess that was left behind. Jason has to face his past and may be forced to deal with the unresolved "issues" between himself and Dick Grayson.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Gotham

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, so, here is part 2, and yes, the title is the name of a song by Linkin Park. xD Titles are a pain, so I decided to start naming my stories after songs if I can't think of one within five minutes. ~_~ I don't like spending a lot of time dwelling on a title. Anywho, this story won't be as intense and dark as the last one, but, fair-warning, there WILL still be some talk of and/or implied dark themes. So...you've been warned. 
> 
> And also, as per the norm, I have a skeleton, but no meat, so...don't take the tags at face value. But that's how I like it! ^^ Anywho, enjoy!

“According to officials, The Red Hood is dead and his Arkham Knights are either in Blackgate Penitentiary, dead, or in the wind, and-” The Red Hood snorted and turned his phone off, jamming it into his black jacket pocket. Sporting a new look, lighter than his armor, he wore a black jacket with white shoulders, with a red hoodie beneath it, and a dark gray shirt with a red bat symbol on it. His legs were clad in black pants with black knee-high shinguards, and black boots. Around his waist, he wore a low-slung blood red utility belt, and of course, as per his name, a blood red helmet.

It had been only a week since he left Gotham, since he left the manor, but he was still keeping tabs. He couldn’t go back to Gotham, not just yet. He wasn’t stupid; he knew he was injured and that was why he left Gotham. It as far too risky to stay there with Nightwing, Batman, and Red Robin as _replacement_ was calling himself now, running around. He was good, but not good enough to face them down in his current state.

So he came here, to Star City, to pay an old friend a visit.

“What’d I tell you? I told you, if you’re coming on patrol with me, ton stick close so you don’t get yourself killed!” Arsenal snapped, dropping down beside him. The red and black clad vigilante punched his arm and drew his bow. Hood looked up at the man, face obscured by a black domino mask, short auburn air blown back by the wind. He sighed and stood up, shaking his head.

“Hey, I might not be one-hundred percent, but I’m not helpless,” Hood snapped back. He dusted himself off and drew his dual hand guns, rolling his shoulders a bit before motioning down to the thugs below and turned to Arsenal and asked “so, how’d you wanna handle ‘em?”

Arsenal scanned the room below with his tactical visor active. From the intel he had, they were a gang of Drug Dealers working for a dirt bag out of Gotham. Red Hood had been reluctant to go back, but once they finished up here, that’d be their next stop: Gotham City. Arsenal was silent for a few moments longer and Red Hood was getting antsy. Finally, he grinned over at Hood.

“No civilians. No holding back,” he said with a cocky grin, starting things off with a well placed explosive arrow, aimed at the table with weapons piled on top of it. The men shouted in both angry and surprise as the two red and black clad vigilantes dived into the fray below.

Hood dived down, spinning through the air as he fired off his hand guns in rapid succession, killing several of them quickly, while Arsenal nailed two more with throwing knives. As soon as they landed, they were charged by several thugs with various melee weapons ranging from baseball bats to crow bars. The two vigilantes stood back to back as they came at them.

“Think you can handle it?” Arsenal asked, slamming his bow into one of them and sending him flying backward. Hood performed a punch-gunshot combo and knocked one out while killing another. He laughed in amusement at the question.

“Remember who you’re talking to! And then ask yourself ‘why do I bother’?” Arsenal gave a laughed as the two of them pushed off of each other and tore threw the last of the thugs, tying up the survivors for the cops. Arsenal and Hood met each other in the middle of the room, the former of which gave a light hearted backhanded slap to Hood’s arm.

“See? I told you you could play nice if you really tried,” he said with a grin, gesturing to the tied up, but alive, thugs. Hood gave a shrug of his shoulders.

“You’re one to talk. You killed as many as I did.” Arsenal snorted and mounted his bow on his back.

“Yeah, but I didn’t kill them _all._ Now-” Arsenal said with a grin, rubbing his hands together. He clapped Hood on the shoulder and flashed him a grin “you ready to get back to Gotham?” Hood sighed and threw his hood off, removing his helmet, revealing a red domino mask beneath it. He raked a hand through his hair and gave another shrug.

“Sure, why the fuck not. It’s probably gone back to being a pisshole without me there,” he said with a grin. Arsenal laughed and slapped the man’s back, wrapping an arm around his shoulders and leading him out of the building.

“Very likely. But we;ll bust your guys out of Blackgate, as much as I dislike the idea-”

“Hey, they were loyal to me, I’m not gonna leave ‘em in there” Hood snapped back. Arsenal backed off a bit and raised his hands defensively.

“I know, I know. I get it. I just don’t like prison breaks, okay?” Hood gave a nod and sighed, hand raking through his hand again.

“I get it. But we’re totally killing anyone else who tries to get out. Think of it as...spring cleaning,” Hood said with a wicked grin. Arsenal laughed and poked the man in the chest.

“Okay, first of all, it’s August, so it’s the middle of summer-”

“Details, details,” Hood said nonchalantly, waving his hand dismissively,

“And second, I like the way you think!” Hood chuckled darkly and playfully punched Arsenal’s arm.

“Good. Then we’ll leave tomorrow. I need to sleep. Like, seriously, I haven’t had a good night’s sleep in a month.” Arsenal chuckled in amusement, wrapped his arm around his friend’s shoulders.

“Well, last night may have been my fault,” he said in a low tone, wiggling his eyebrows. Hood smirked and punched the man again.

“Yeah well, not tonight. I’m fuckin’ tired.”

* * * * *

Nightwing spun through the air, escrima sticks flying, punches, kicks, and escrima blows raining down on the thugs he was engaged with. Gotham erupted into chaos with The Red Hood’s departure. With him gone, a power vacuum had been left behind, and the gangs were at war to try to claim leadership of the Underworld. Penguin proved an invaluable source of intel, but only because the constant gang wars were messing with his own businesses.

Black Mask’s lawyer somehow got him off, but Batman suspected jury tampering, which Nightwing whole heartedly agreed with. All in all, it was pretty much an average month in Gotham. But Black Mask’s return made things worse; he and the Joker had been rivals for a long time and now with the Clown Prince of Crime gone, Black Mask became more aggressive, taking up more of the Joker’s old territory. But not without a fight.

From out of left field, Harley Quinn, of all people, stepped up and took control of the Joker’s men. With the Joker dead, she became even more psychotic, more aggressive, and far more violent. She even renamed the gang to “The Jokerz,” and already made a few very violent, very aggressive power plays against Black Mask.

Bludhaven would have to wait, as it wasn’t nearly as bad as Gotham currently. Nightwing had to take a little more time away from Bludhaven to help in Gotham. The GCPD, Batman and Red Robin were tasked to capacity with gang wars erupting every other night, so Nightwing opted to stay for a while to help. The Justice League offered to help a few times, but each time, Batman declined. He didn’t like having other heroes in his city. He had even insisted Nightwing take care of Bludhaven. He was as stubborn as ever, but that didn’t stop Nightwing from sticking around.  
And so here was Nightwing, taking down one of Black Mask’s gangs, who were pushing venom onto the streets of Gotham. Or trying to. Black Mask didn’t seem to care what ‘business’ his gangs were up to, as long as they were solidifying his power base and raking in money. Just a few days ago, he and Batman broke up another child trafficking ring. And last night, they caught Two-Face brokering a weapon deal with Penguin’s men who turned out to have gone rogue.

Penguin had not been happy when he found out, which he did only a few hours later. Needless to say, his turncoat men didn’t make it to Blackgate alive.

“There’s twelve of us, and one of him! Why the hell ain’t he dead yet?!” The gang leader yelled, firing a machine gun at Nightwing. Nightwing laughed as he spun through the air, avoiding the gunfire before landing on top of the man and sending him crashing to the ground.

“Let me give you a hint; it’s because I’m Nightwing,” Nightwing replied, looking down at the man while knocking two more out with his escrima sticks without looking up. He stepped off the man and got to grounding and tying them up for the GCPD to come pick them up. He pulled out a grappling gun and aimed it at a building across the way and turned back to the bound gangster. He flashed them a wink and a grin.

“Try and behave yourselves. Maybe you’ll get out of Blackgate before you’re fifty!” He fired the grappling gun and vanished into the night. 

“Oracle, you got anything else for me?” Nightwing asked as he landed on top of the building. There was a brief silence before Oracle replied.

“Yeah, there’s some activity down in The Bowery. Seems like another gang war.” Nightwing groaned and typed a few commands on his gauntlet, summoning the Wing Glider.

“Yeah, can’t ever catch a break can we?” he asked with a slight laugh, diving off the building and latching onto the Wing Glider. Oracle laughed at the reply.

“Well, _you’re_ the one who wanted to stay and help, remember?” she replied. Nightwing could practically hear the smirk on his face which elicited another laugh.

“Barbara, you’re such a bitch, and I mean that in the nicest way possible,” he said. Oracle laughed again.

“I’ll take that as a compliment. Being a bitch isn’t always a bad thing. I wear the title with pride,” she said and Nightwing laughed again.

“Sure thing Babs. I’ll let you know when I’m there. Tell Batman and Red Robin that I got the Bowery covered.”

“On it.”

* * * * *

Nightwing dropped down on top of the abandoned warehouse where the trouble supposedly was. Interestingly enough, all he found were dead, or unconscious thugs littering the ground.

“Oracle, looks like its over. And it doesn’t look good. Everyone is either dead or unconscious,” Nightwing said quietly.

“Everyone?” she asked.

 _“Everyone.”_ Nightwing continued through the warehouse, escrima sticks at the ready. Something didn’t seem quite right; there were two different gangs here, but _every single one of them was out cold._ And there were no signs of a third. None at all. Nightwing came across some a pile of charred drugs, worthless now but worth millions before they had been burned, he guessed. Was there _another_ vigilante in town?

“Fuck!” 

Nightwing heard the shout from another room and followed it, carefully. He heard a gun shot, then rounded the corner and spotted someone crouched down over a corpse. The man got to his feet and turned and Nightwing’s heart hammered in his chest.

“Well, well, well, if it ain’t golden boy,” The Red Hood said with amusement. Nightwing glanced down to the hand clutching his side. He nodded to it.

“Are you okay?” he asked. Hood grunted and moved his hand, revealing a shallow cut on his side. He snorted and waved a gun toting hand dismissively.

“Just a flesh wound. And it’s nice to see you too,” he said casually, holstering his guns. Nightwing spun around on the spot when he heard someone drop down behind him and was surprised to see

“Arsenal?”

“In the flesh!” Arsenal said with a grin, giving a slight bow.

“Right, well, it was nice seeing you again, but we have work to do,” Hood said casually, patting Nightwing’s shoulder as he passed. Nightwing growled and grabbed his arm.

“You’re an asshole, y’know that?!” he snapped. Hood turned back to him, then glanced at Arsenal who just snickered and raised his hands defensively.

“You’re not dragging me into this,” he said, grappling up to the rafters above and vanishing through a hole on the roof. Hood sighed and removed his helmet, tucking it under his arm.

“What?”

“What?! You take off in the middle of the night, injured, gone for over a week without a single word, and all you have to say is ‘what’?” Nightwing asked angrily, fisting the man’s jacket and yanking him forward. Jason grinned wickedly and licked his lips.

“Y’know Dickie, you’re really hot when you’re angry,” he teased. Nightwing tried to be angry, but his expression faltered and twisted into a smile, followed by a laugh as he let the man go.

“Jason-” Jason donned his helmet again and grappled up to the roof above.

“Sorry, gotta go. Duty calls. Looks like The Red Hood’s gonna have to clean house. Again.”

“Hey!” Nightwing called after him, but he was already gone. He sighed and contacted Oracle. Somehow, he didn’t think Bruce would take this news well...


	2. Jail Break

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jason and Roy plan to break the Arkham Knights out of Blackgate, or at least those that are left.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter mostly wrote itself. I had other ideas, but I guess the story decided it's ideas were better. :D

“Roy, you fucking prick,” Jason called, his tone light and playful as opposed to venomous and angry. They were currently in one of Jason’s old safe houses, one of the ones he had in Uptown Gotham. It wasn’t fancy, and painfully ordinary in every way, but Jason was never one for luxury anyway.

Roy walked out of the bathroom, buck naked, completely at ease and drying his hair. He had a cocky grin on his face and gave Jason a wink. Jason just smirked and rolled his eyes, then pointed at the man and shot him a glare.

“Where are my damn cigarettes you asshole,” Jason snapped. Roy shrugged and draped the towel around his shoulders before slipping back into the bathroom.

“Those things’ll kill ya, Jaybird! And I like having you around! You make the prettiest noises when I fuck you,” Roy called. Roy and Jason had a close friendship, since they first met when they were fifteen. Back before Jason died, they even started to...fool around a bit. They shared everything with each other, including secrets; nothing was off limits. They had actually tried dating at one point, but that only lasted a month before they decided they worked better as friends. Jason more or less resumed that ‘friends with benefits’ friendship they had when he showed up in Star City. After Roy freaked out a bit first, of course.

Jason grunted and pushed himself out of bed and began digging through the drawers for his cigarettes.

“Yeah, well if you wanna keep fucking me, you’ll tell me where my damn cigs are you ass. And besides,” he called back, digging through the closet where they stored their gear and found his cigarettes stashed inside one of Roy’s boots. He grinned widely and lit one up before crossing back to the bed and flopped down with a contented sight, taking a puff of the cigarette “it’s not like I smoke a whole lot. I can quit any time. I mean, c’mon, gimme some credit, my last cig was like, a week ago.”

Roy sighed deeply as he strode out of the bathroom in naught but a pair of red briefs with a black waistband, and flopped down on the bed beside Jason, snatching the cigarette out of his hand and putting it out, tossing it into the trash can. Jason protested and jabbed Roy in the side. The man retaliated by sticking his tongue out at him.

“Fuckin’ dick. I wasn’t done with that,” Jason muttered, sitting up. Roy laughed and gave a shrug, sitting up beside him and running a hand through the man’s hair.

“Doin’ you a favor, Jaybird. So tell me,” he said smoothly, patting Jason’s back “how does it feel to be back in Gotham? I mean really. Don’t give me any of that sarcastic shit or I’ll beat your ass.”

“Maybe I’d like it,” Jason replied with a teasing grin, earning a smack upside his head.

“Bitch,” Jason jibed.

“Jackass,” Roy jabbed back, the two of them grinning like idiots at each other. Roy then flashed him a look ans Jason frowned, flopped back down onto the bed. He sighed, raking a hand through his hair.

“Honestly? I was hoping not to come back here for a while yet. Still not at one-hundred percent, and there are...memories here I’d rather forget,” Jason said evenly, heaving a sigh. Roy chuckled and fell back beside him, glancing over at the other man.

“And Dick Grayson,” Roy teased. Jason blushed and jabbed Roy in the side, hard. Roy grunted and rolled off the bed and onto his feet.

“Ow,” Roy grunted in response, flashing Jason a smirk before he slid back onto the bed “did I poke a sore spot?” he asked. Jason glared at him and lit up another cigarette. He pushed himself up off the bed and retreated out to the balcony, hands on the rail as he looked out over the city below, cigarette in his mouth and a glare on his face. Roy joined him moments later, having pulled on a pair of jeans. Jason glanced over at him, blowing smoke and tossing the cigarette butt over the balcony.

“Dick deserves better than me. Besides, I have you,” Jason said casually. Roy was already grinning when he realized what he’d just said.

“Aw, that’s sweet, Jaybird! I love you too! You gonna propose next?” Roy teased. 

“Don’t ever say that again, or I’ll shoot you in your fucking face,” Jason replied, shooting the man a glare “besides, you know what I meant you prick.” Roy laughed and patted Jason on the back, flashing him a grin.

“Don’t worry, I always got your back, Jaybird” Roy replied. The two of them stood out on the balcony for a while longer, in silence, just watching the city below. Roy glanced up at Jason then and nudged him, to get his attention. Jason looked over at the man and Roy asked “so...you going to come back to Star City with me when this is all over?” Jason frowned and looked back down to the busy streets below, silently regretting throwing that cigarette away.

“No. Gotham is my home. I’m here now, may as well stick around and try to clean it up. Yeah, that’s what I intend to do.” Roy gave a shrug of his shoulders and leaned back against the railing.

“Well, then I guess I am too. If you’re staying, so am I. I wonder if daddy bats can handle the both of us?” Roy teased with a grin. Jason snorted and retreated back inside.

“He’ll probably get in the way, mostly, but whatever,” Jason replied. Roy grabbed Jason by the shoulder and turned him around.

“Now, before I forget, you got any plans for this prison break of yours?” Roy asked. Jason grinned like the devil.

“I got a few ideas.”

* * * * *

As predicted, Bruce was not pleased to hear that Jason was back in town. He wasn’t angry, but he wasn’t happy about it either. Specifically because of the knowledge that he was still masquerading as the Red Hood, and apparently, still killing. He was geared up and prepared to go out on patrol while Tim was fast asleep upstairs; school night. So he ended up asking Dick to come with him.

“Bruce, I don’t know if this matters to you,” Dick began, pressing on his mask as he strode up beside Batman “but I think...I think there’s hope for him. For Jason, I mean.” Batman glanced at him before hopping into the batmobile, Nightwing jumping in beside him.

“How so?” Batman asked before firing up the batmobile and peeling out of the cave. 

“Because he’s...well, he’s sparing people, Bruce,” Nightwing answered, flashing the man a small smile. Batman glanced over at him, and though he tried to hide it, it saw a spark of hope in the man’s eyes. So he went on “when I came to that warehouse in the Bowery, some of the thugs were still alive. He’s...holding back a bit, I think.” Bruce glanced at him once more before turning his attention forward, considering the new information in silence.

As they sped down the road, Oracle began contacting them via the batmobile’s computer.

“Batman, Nightwing, I don’t know if this is important, but it seemed suspicious enough to pass along,” Oracle began. They could hear the sounds of clacking keys before she continued “several members of the Arkham Knights had their sentences commuted to Arkham Asylum, and they’re being moved there as we speak.” Nightwing and Batman exchanged glances.

“Jason is probably going to break them out,” Nightwing suggested. Batman nodded in agreement.

“Thanks Oracle. Give us the current location and trajectory of the prisoner truck and we’ll check it out.”

* * * * *

Twenty Arkham Knights were led out of Blackgate in chains and escorted out to a bus to Arkham Asylum. They seemed as confused as the guards escorting them, because this transfer was so sudden. Once they were all on the bus, they hit the freeway, but they didn’t get far. The rev of a motorcycle could be heard alongside the bus and the Knights looked out to see, to their surprise, their lost leader.

The Red Hood looked back to Arsenal and gave a nod. Arsenal nocked an arrow and aimed for the engine and fired. Energy crackled from the arrow and the bus began to decelerate and the motorcycle squealed to a stop in front of the bus. Hood and Arsenal hopped off of the bike, weapons at the ready. Arsenal patted Hood on the shoulder.

“Remember-” Arsenal began, but Hood brushed his hand off.

“I know, non-lethal. You don’t have to tell me. They’re prison guards just doing their jobs,” Hood replied. Right on cue, three guards came out of the bus and began firing at them. The two of them dived out of the way, Arsenal dodge rolling to the side and firing off a foam arrow, trapping the guards without injuring them. Hood strode over to the and snatched up the keys and got on the bus.

“See, what’d I tell ya? If bribery doesn’t work, threats get the job done, every time,” Hood said with an amused smirk, playfully punching Arsenal’s arm. Arsenal flashed a grin at the man and shrugged.

“Sir, you came back for us!” one of the men called. Hood pulled off his helmet, wearing a black domino mask underneath. He grinned at them and began undoing their chains.

“Of course I did. Nobody gets left behind. Where are the rest of them?” Hood asked, undoing the last of their chains. The men rubbed their wrists and grinned at each other, then saluted their commander.

“Sir, most of them fled Gotham,” one said, then another continued on.

“With you gone...moral kind of sunk. We thought you were dead.”

“Some of us did. And so most of us fled Gotham. Penguin pulled a few strings and hired a handful of the us on as bodyguards,” another said.

“And we’re the ones who stayed behind and...got caught.” Hood gave a nod, clapping one of the men on the back.

“It’s okay. You’re free now, so get out of here before you get caught again,” Hood said evenly. The Knights just stood around, exchanging glances. Then one of them, a blonde man, average build with green eyes, stepped up and shook his head.

“With all do respect, sir, you’re our commander. If you’re staying, we are too,” the man said. Hood sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.

“Davis, I’m not a commander anymore as you can clearly see,” Hood replied, gesturing to himself. The men looked at each other a again, and then shrugged.

“Doesn’t matter. You saved each of us. We’re loyal to you,” the man, Davis, replied. Hood gave a smirk, then clapped his hands together.

“Well then. Get to a safe house then. Take care of yourselves. I have a new mission for you,” Hood said. He glanced back at Arsenal, who seemed somewhat amused by all of this.

“I can’t lead you anymore. But you can take care of Gotham on your own. Report to me if anything big is going down. Act as my ears and eyes, and my fists if I’m not around.” The men looked at each other and then saluted him once more.

“You got it, sir.”

“It’s Jason. But keep that to yourselves,” Jason said with a smirk, patting Davis’ shoulder. Davis grinned at Jason and patted his arm.

“Secret’s safe with us. C’mon, let’s get our asses outta here before more cops show up,” Davis called to the other men. Hood watched as they left then turned back to Arsenal and shrugged.

“I know you didn’t enjoy that, neither did I, but-”

“Don’t worry about it pal. It was cool to see how loyal they are to you. How’d you do it?” Arsenal asked. Jason pulled his helmet on and gave a shrug.

“I saved each of them, gave them a purpose. Most of them had been betrayed or abandoned,” Hood said smoothly, glancing over at Arsenal as he hopped onto his bike “and I know how that feels.” Arsenal hopped onto the bike behind him and Hood revved the engine before taking off down the street.

“So what’s next?” Arsenal called over the roar of the engine. Hood glanced back at him before speeding up.

“Clean up Gotham.”

* * * * *

Batman and Nightwing arrived on the scene and found Commissioner Gordon and the GCPD already on the scene, freeing the prison guards from the foam. Nightwing and Batman exchanged glances because they knew immediately who was responsible. Gordon caught sight of them out of the corner of his eye and approached them.

“Seems the Red Hood is back in town. And he’s got a side kick now,” Gordon said immediately, gesturing to the guards trapped in foam. Batman and Nightwing glanced over at them then back to Gordon.

“So it would seem. We got a tip that this bus was going to be hit, but obviously-”

“We’re a little late to the party,” Nightwing said with a shrug and a grin. Gordon snorted and turned back to the scene, gesturing for them to follow. He pointed toward an arrow sticking out of the front of the bus.

“This was an inside job. They had all the tools to pull it off, the knew exactly where the bus was headed, I’d even wager they arranged it somehow,” Gordon said smoothly. Another glance exchanged between Nightwing and Batman.

“Look, I don’t need to tell you how bad Gotham has gotten since the Red Hood disappeared, but with him back now...well, this shit’s probably going to get worse before it gets better,” Gordon said flatly. Batman patted the man on the shoulder and gave a nod and a knowing look.

“We’re looking into it. The GCPD won’t be dealing with this alone,” Batman said smoothly. Gordon pulled out a cigarette and lit it up, taking a few puffs. Nightwing nodded toward him.

“Thought you quit?” Gordon quirked an eyebrow at him and shrugged.

“Stress. Can you blame me, kid?” he asked in an amused tone. Nightwing smirked and shrugged.

“Guess not.” Batman and Nightwing returned to the Batmobile and sped off into the night, keeping their ears and eyes peeled for any sightings of the Red Hood. Batman glanced over at Nightwing.

“Gordon’s right. Regardless of whether or not Jason is showing restraint, his presence here is going to escalate things,” Batman said. Nightwing sighed and gave a nod; he didn’t really want to admit it, but Batman was right.

“Yeah, I know.”


	3. Trouble

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Black Mask is stirring up more trouble, and Roy comes to realize, he has troubles of his own.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I figured this story will focus more on the characters than the crime/vigilante life. That's the direction I've chosen to take the story instead of what I originally intended. Make no mistake there'll still be some action going on and all that jazz. But I think we've seen more than enough in the last story. x) Anywho, sorry for the delay. The change in direction was part of it, but the other part was writer's block. x.x

The Red Hood sat perched on top of a building in Midtown, looking down at Black Mask’s thugs below. They were armed with shotguns, baseball bats, crowbars, you name it. And it seemed pretty obvious what they’d here, some hole-in-the-wall nightclub, for. The places was closing up for the night, which made it the perfect target for a shakedown. Black Mask had a particular interest in intimidating people into paying him protection money, which hadn’t seemed to have changed.

Tonight, Hood was on his own because Arsenal was responding to a weapons’ deal down at Admiral Docks. He wasn’t happy about them splitting up, but he gave Hood the easier job, on account of his injuries, which were healing quickly. Likely side-effect, or a boon, of his little dip in the Lazarus Pit.

“Well, guess it’s time to clean house,” Hood said to himself, jumping down and grappling across the way. He landed in front of the door after the thugs ha entered and drew his dual hand guns, kicking the door open. The thugs turned on him while one of them held a gun to the bartender’s head.

“Listen up douche bags. I’m only going to say this one time. Get out while you have your lives, or I’ll paint the walls in your blood,” Hood said evenly. The men exchanged glances and then laughed. Hood sighed and scratched his shoulder with his gun.

“Please, you’re a has been, all washed up Hood!” one of the men taunted.

“You got you’re ass kicked by the Batman! You’re nothin’ in this town,” another said. Hood snorted, both in amusement and anger; they pressed his Batman button.

“Hmm. Interesting choice of words. But you made one mistake,” Hood said evenly. The thugs laughed and one of them took a threatening step forward.

“Yeah? And what’s that?”

“You pushed my Batman button.”

“You’re wh-” but the man didn’t get the chance to finish that thought; in a quick motion, Hood jammed his gun into thug’s stomach and shot. The other men exchanged shocked glanced quickly before they attacked. Hood dived out of the way of a shotgun blast, then grabbed the bartender and shoved him down beneath the bar before jumping back up and putting a bullet in the shotgun wielder’s forehead. The other two thugs came around to corner him and Hood laughed.

“Oh me, oh my! The Red Hood is cornered! Is this he end of little old me?” he mocked. There was a moment of silence as the thugs sneered at him and moved in for the attack.

“Nah, I’m just fuckin’ with ya,” he finished, jumping over their baseball bats and rolling over the bar and flipping onto his feet. The two thugs hit each other with their bats and knocked each other out cold.

“Huh. That’ll do,” Hood said smoothly, holstering his guns. He moved across the room and stood at the bar, leaning over it to see the bartender cowering behind it.

“Hey, buddy, you’re alright. Call the GCPD and have them picked these dickheads up,” Hood said smoothly. The man looked up art him and nodded and as Hood turned to leave, he grabbed a wire from his utility belt and tossed it to the man “oh, and here. Tie those fuckers up. They ain’t gettin’ out of that.” Hood clapped his hands together and strolled out of the bar.

No sooner had he gotten out of the door, that Batman dropped down in front of him. Hood didn’t even flinch, just crossed his arms and snorted in amusement.

“Little late to the party, aren’t we bats?” he asked. Batman’s eyes narrowed, but the batglare did nothing for Hood, who simply shrugged him off and replied “yeah, that whole big bad bats routine ain’t gonna work on me. Situations taken care of. There’s a few unconscious thugs in there if you wanna beat ‘em for information though. Have at it.” Hood slipped past Batman, but Batman grabbed him by his shoulder.

“You need to stop this, Jason,” he said softly. Hood glared at him and shoved his hand off of him.

“Bite me,” he replied, before grappling up to the roof above. He turned back to see Batman glaring after him and so he removed his helmet and gave a wave back “oh, and tell Nightwing I said hello.” A wicked grin split his face as he dashed off into the night and disappeared.

Batman watched him go, wondering to himself if he should have attempted to stop him. Part of him believed what Dick had told him, that Jason was changing, for the better. That was why he didn’t act, why he let him go. This whole mess as going to escalate, but Hood or no Hood, it would have anyway. 

At least with him on their side, they could get it over more quickly and spare a lot of people a lot of pain. Maybe. Batman entered the club and found two of the thugs dead, bleeding all over the floor. He glared at the room, feeling a sense of regret for letting Hood go, until his eyes beheld two unconscious thugs, tied up in the corner of the room. A small sense of pride filled him, but later. He moved across the room and dragged both thugs out of the building and grappled up to the roof. When they came to, they found themselves face to face with Batman.

“Now, you’re going to tell me everything I want to know.”

* * * * *

Nightwing dropped in on Penguin’s thugs from the glass roof above and took out several of both Penguin and Black Mask’s thugs in a flurry of kicks and escrima attacks. He’d already stopped a drug deal earlier in the night over at China Docks, he and Batman. Black Mask was very busy tonight, it seemed. Though Nightwing got the sense that he wasn’t the only one here, because he could hear the sounds of combat from the other side of the docks.

Nightwing left an arc grenade on the weapons to destroy them before slipping out of the building to investigate. A thug was running scared when suddenly an arrow shot behind him and exploded into a net, pinning him against a shipping crate.

“Wow, you can really move when you want to! Too bad I’m faster!” Arsenal called, punching the man in the face and knocking him out cold. Arsenal chuckled in amusement and stored his bow before clapping his hands together and turning to see Nightwing. His grin faded and he approached the other vigilante.

“Well, well, well. If it ain’t Nightwing. Long time no see. Well, sort of. You know what I mean,” he said with a shrug. Nightwing chuckled in amusement and crossed his arms over his chest.

“I do. And yeah, it’s been a while. How’ve you been?” Nightwing asked. Arsenal pulled a face and gave a shrug.

“Not bad, not bad. No time to talk though. Assuming you took care of those scum bags I there?” Arsenal asked, gesturing to the building behind Nightwing. Nightwing turned his had, then looked back at Arsenal and gave a nod.

“Yeah. Weapons are destroyed. They won’t be selling those any time soon,” Nightwing replied with a cocky smirk. The two of them stood in silence, awkward silence, for a few moments. Nightwing sighed and raked a hand through his hair and asked Arsenal “tell me something...how’s...how’s Jaybird? Is he okay?” 

Arsenal frowned a bit at first but then his expression softened when he saw the look on the other man’s face; he was sincerely worried, and he could see something else. Shit. Arsenal just gave a nod in response.

“He’s fine. Healing fast. Don’t worry, I’m keeping him out of the tough fighting until he’s back at one-hundred percent.” Nightwing laughed in amusement.

“Tried keeping him off patrol altogether I take it?” he asked. Arsenal snorted with held back laughter.

“Yeah, but you can guess how that worked out.” Nightwing laughed again and the sounds of GCPD police sirens sounded in the distance.

“Catch you later Nightwing,” Arsenal called, waving to the man as he grappled up to a nearby building. Nightwing did likewise and the two vigilantes parted ways. Arsenal stood on top of a building across the way and watched as Nightwing left, continued to watch, even as the GCPD pulled up below. He peeled off his mask, briefly, wondering if what he really saw in the man’s eyes was what he thought it was. The same look he saw in Jason’s eyes. He sighed and pressed his mask back on; time to get home.

* * * * *

Roy sighed as he climbed in through the window of the apartment to find Jason sitting on the couch playing video games. Jason seemed so concentrated on it, he hadn’t noticed Roy, it seemed, so he continued to watch in silence, amusedly. Jason had a frown on his face and seemed to be struggling with a particular mission. Roy glanced at the screen and saw him fighting off a horde of zombies. 

Jason licked his lips as he leaned forward on the couch, the sound of frantic button mashing filling the room until finally, the screen darkened and a message appeared “You Survived!”

“Ha!” Jason shouted, jumping up off the couch. Roy finally let out a laugh of amusement and Jason looked over in his direction before dropping the controller down on the table and shutting down the system.

“Roy, about time you got home you bastard. What took you so long?” Jason asked with a smirk, grabbing a soda up off of the table and sipping it. Roy quirked an eyebrow and gestured toward the drink as he made his way inside the apartment, stripping off his gear.

“Soda? Really?” he asked in an amused tone. Jason snorted in response and chugged it.

“Listen you drunk,” Jason teased, earning the finger from Roy “not all of us want to get hammered every night. Besides, beer is disgusting. I only drink it to forget, and I have nothing to forget tonight.” Roy laughed in response as he finished changing into civilian attire, a pair of jeans and a red t-shirt, and closed the closet shut. He shuffled out of the bedroom and flopped down on the couch beside Jason.

“I suppose it wouldn’t be tactful to get hammered every night. You want to do the hammering?” Roy said lowly, wiggling his eyeborws. Jason snorted and spewed his soda everywhere, having been right in the middle of a sip. Roy busted out in laughter as Jason coughed and put the can down, clearing his throat several times.

“So not what I meant you fucking pig,” Jason managed, pushing himself up off of the couch and moving into the kitchen. He threw a roll of paper towels at Roy and pointed to the mess “now clean it up, asshole, it’s your fault.” Roy chuckled in amusement but obeyed regardless. He glanced up at Jason while he was cleaning, turning briefly to throw a away some of the soaked paper towel.

“Oh yeah, ran into Dick earlier,” Roy began, finishing his cleaning and returning to the kitchen. When he came back, he paused in the doorway for a second, taking note of Jason’s slightly tense posture “he just asked how you were doing. Oh and he said hi.” Roy felt a sudden lump in his throat at the thought of Dick and Jason together. That lump in his throat devolved into a knot in his chest and- _oh fuck. Am I...am I jealous? God dammit Roy, what’ve you gotten yourself into now?!_

“Roy? Hey Roy! Snap out of it!” Jason called from his place on the couch, snapping his fingers. Roy glanced up at Jason, snapped out of his thoughts and flashed a fake smile.

“You okay? Zoned out on me for a minute there,” Jason said amusedly. Roy swallowed hard, ignoring his thoughts for a moment before he crossed the room again and joined his friend on the couch.

“Aw, worried about lil’ ol’ me, Jaybird? I’m touched!” Roy teased, earning a jab in his side with Jason’s elbow.

“Yeah, yeah. Shut the fuck up and pick up a controller. I’m finally kicking you ass at Call of Duty, asshole.” Roy laughed and grabbed up the controller as Jason fired up the game.

“No sleep tonight?” he teased.

“Nope. Taking the day off. I fucking earned it,” Jason replied with a grin. Roy laughed in amusement but gave a nod in reply.

“Well, if ‘Little Wing’ thinks he’s man enough to take me on-”

“You ever call me that again, I’ll carve out your jugular,” Jason teased.

“Bitch.”

“Fucker.”

“Roadkill.” Roy glanced over at Jason, realizing what he’d said without thinking. Jason just looked over at him and busted out laughing.


	4. Seeking Advice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Barbara finds herself dealing with the same problem from two different friends. Things are starting to get a bit complicated.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I like how this story is going. :D No worries, the Black Mask arc is still there, but it has become secondary. I'm enjoying this new direction the story has taken, and I hope you are too. ^^

Dick sipped his coffee as he looked over the rim of his cup at Barbara. Barbara invited him out for coffee at the local cafe in Gotham, to talk about...things. They broke up a year ago, and Dick wondered if that was what it was about, but so far, neither of them had said a word to each other. That made Dick nervous, because of a person went this long without saying something to you, it usually meant bad news. But Dick remained silent, because he could clearly see that Barbara had something she wanted to say.

“Dick,” she finally began, sipping her coffee once more, glancing at him over the rim of her cup. Dick set his cup down and looked at her, waited patiently. Another few moments of silence when the red head finally sighed and placed her cup down “I promised you that, maybe we’d try and...get together again when you got your head on straight again...after that whole...Blockbuster/Tarantula...incident.” Dick averted his eyes, staring out the window. That particular saga of his time as Nightwing was not something he liked to talk about.

“No, Dick. I can’t,” she finally said in a calm, even tone. Dick looked back to her, his expression blank. Part of him was...relieved. He loved Barbara, really, but...

“You have eyes for someone else. And I think I know who,” Barbara went on with a mischievous smile on her face. Dick blushed crimson because nobody knew, or was supposed to have know, that he was...well...in love with Jason. Hell, he didn’t even know until a month or so ago! But Jason was...out of the question. It didn’t seem like Jason was interested in him, at least, not anymore. If the last conversation they had had was any indication, Jason had moved on. 

Dick wanted to do the same but...every time he was near Jason, he felt his heart beat a little faster, felt his stomach do back flips. Every time Jason spoke, he listened to every word. Every time Jason laughed, it was like music, and when someone else mentioned Jason, he found himself dropping everything else to listen. Jason’s past didn’t matter to him, not one bit. Most people might look at his checkered past and turn away, but Dick saw past that, saw the person Jason was inside, and he’d fallen head over heels, long before he even knew it himself.

Then when Jason died, it was like a piece of him had shattered. The two of them were close, Jason having shared some of his darker secrets with him, opening up to him. And Jason looked up to him, trained with him, trusted him. He didn’t go to Jason’s funeral, he couldn’t. Seeing Jason’s body, seeing him being lowered into the ground, would be a confirmation that he was gone. He would always know that Jason was dead, but...to see him...he couldn’t do it.

“Barbara, I-”

“Dick, I know, okay?” she said with a soft smile, gently placing her hand on top of his. Dick managed a small smile as their eyes met; there was still something there, between them, he could see it, but he couldn’t deny that there was a stronger attracting to Jason inside himself also. Barbara was silent for a few moments longer before she withdrew her hand and, seemingly reading his mind, she said “I can feel that...there’s something still there between us, but you want someone else more.” 

“Barbara, Jason...I don’t think he feels the same way for me. I can’t pursue someone who doesn’t-”

“He does,” Barbara interrupted with her usual ‘as a matter-of-fact” look. Dick frowned and opened his mouth to speak, but she beat him to the punch “I’m a woman. We know these things. I’ve seen the signs. When he told you he moved on, he was probably lying. Nobody just suddenly moves on, out of the blue, with feelings as deep as that.”

Dick chuckled a little, sipped his coffee again and looked back out the window. Maybe Barbara was right and Jason still had feelings for him, but Jason made it clear to him that night, that he wasn’t interested in pursuing a...relationship. Of any kind. And you couldn’t just pursue Jason Todd, couldn’t push him, because he’d run faster, or he’d push back harder. That’s just who Jason was.

“It doesn’t change anything,” Dick muttered staring into the brown liquid pensively, his expression slightly sorrowful. His mind flashed back to the night they had sex. He hadn’t planned for that to happen, it just did. But Dick didn’t do casual sex, or...he never used to. He only slept with people he _really_ cared about. Was his body, his mind, trying to tell him how he felt? Or was he more shallow than he realized? But no, a quick search through his heart confirmed what he already knew; he _loved_ Jason.

Dick looked up at Barbara, a hand threading through his hair and a sad smile on his face as he said to her “Jason doesn’t want me. You might be right, but he made it clear he doesn’t...want to be with me.”

“Dick-”

“You know Jason, Barbara,” he began, giving voice to his thoughts “I can’t pursue him. He’ll run faster, and I can’t push him, because he’ll push back harder. I _love_ Jason, I really do. But-”

“But if you do nothing, you’ll regret it for the rest of your life,” she said with a sad smile, her hand resting on top of his once more. Dick sighed and rake his hand through his hair before dropping it to the table, glancing back out the window before focusing on Barbara once more.

“Yeah. You’re right. Thanks Barbara,” Dick replied, flashing her a smile. Barbara smiled back and leaned over the table to placer a kiss on his cheek.

“Of course I’m right. I’m a woman,” she joked, earning a laugh from Dick. Dick smiled a bit, his mood lightened slightly by Barbara’s words, and her encouragement. He sighed and then Barbara wheeled away from the table and ushered him to his feet.

“Come on then, let’s go. You can pay me back by taking me to see that new movie in the theater,” Barbara said cheerily. Dick chuckled in amusement and get to his feet, wheeling her out of the cafe.

“Sure, that sounds like fun,” he replied.

* * * * *

Roy raked his hands through his short, auburn hair, mind racing. He analyzed his thoughts and feelings ore closely from last night, and what he was finding was not good; was he falling in love with Jason? He couldn’t be! They dated before, years ago before Jason died, and miraculously came back, but they broke it off because they felt they were better friends than boyfriends. So why now? It didn’t make any sense, so Roy was adamant that he _had_ to be wrong.

Jason was out doing god only knew what, he didn’t keep tabs on his best friend, though considering the trouble the man could get up to, that might’ve been a good idea, so he had plenty of time to freak out in the privacy of their shared safe house. Though with the bit of money and work they’d dumped into it, it was shaping up into a decent enough apartment by now.

“Dammit Roy, get it together,” Roy muttered to himself. He realized in that moment that this wasn’t something he could figure out by himself. Not when he was so conflicted. He needed to talk to someone...but who? Roy had an idea, so he went to the hallway closet and pulled out his black and red hoodie pulled it on and kicked on his shoes.

Roy’s feet carried him where he wanted to go while his mind wandered, never straying too far from his current predicament. Jason was his best friend and currently, one of his only friends. After his...episode with drugs...the things he used to do...he lost everyone else and Oliver pretty much disowned him. He had worked past that, but he was alone. He didn’t want to ruin his friendship with Jason.

When he finally came to his destination, he head snapped up and he found himself standing in front of a door; the door to Barbara’s apartment. He wasn’t sure if he and Barbara could still be considered ‘friends’ considering they really hadn’t talked to each other in years, but he didn’t really have any other choice. He couldn’t go to Dick because he got the distinct feeling that Dick liked Jason too. That wasn’t a conversation he wanted to have.

He took a deep breath and was about to knock, when he heard Barbara’s voice from down the hallway. Roy turned in her direction fist still raised to knock on the door as Dick and Barbara came around the corner, the two of them laughing as he wheeled her toward her apartment. They both looked up and caught sight of Roy, surprised looks spreading across their faces.

“Roy, hey,” Dick said smoothly, a smile tugging at his lips and Barbara’s expression was likewise as she wheeled away from Dick, up to Roy and patted his back.

“Roy, so good to see you again! What brings you here?” she asked. Roy managed a smile and rubbed the back of his neck nervously, glancing up at Dick, briefly, before turning his attention back to Barbara.

“Actually, I uh...wanted to see you. To talk to you,” Roy looked back up at Dick and cleared his throat “alone. Erm, no offense. I uh-”

“Sure,” Barbara interrupted, waving Dick over. She pulled the acrobat into a hug and kissed his cheek and said “thanks for indulging me. I had fun. Tell Timmy I said hi. And tell Bruce to stop being a self-punishing idiot for five minutes.” Dick laughed in amusement and patted Roy’s shoulder, flashing a smile to him.

“Sure, I’ll do that, not that he’ll listen. Thanks Barbara. And See ya Roy. Tell Jason-”

“Got it covered Dickie,” Roy called back with a smirk, following Barbara into her apartment. Roy closed the door behind himself, and more or less, stood awkwardly in the middle of the living room, looking around the place, while Barbara wheeled into the kitchen and started some tea.

“Have a seat anywhere,” she called, so Roy sat down on the couch nearby. He raked his hands through his hair and could already feel embarrassment welling up inside himself even before they got to talking. Several minutes passed before Barbara returned with two cups of tea, and wheeled to the other side of the coffee table, sipping her tea and flashing a smile.

“So...what’s up?” she asked coolly. Roy sipped his tea, then placed it down on the table, heaving a sigh and clasping his hands together. Elbows on his knees, hands clasped, he stared down at the table pensively for several long, silent moments. Finally, he looked up at Barbara, heaving another sigh.

“I need...help. I need...advice. And I didn’t have anyone else to turn to,” he began, looking up at Barbara. Hr smiled faded, his words sounding serious and by his tone, whatever it was, he really couldn’t handle it on his own. She placed her cup down on the table and leaned forward a bit, and gave a nod of consent for him to continue. 

Roy opened and closed his mouth several times, trying to find the words to voice his thoughts, but failing every time. He scrubbed his face with his hands, leaned back in the couch and let out a frustrated sigh. Barbara remained silent, patient. He sat up again and looked her in the eye, sighing on final time.

“I think I’m...falling in love with Jason,” he finally said, the words just tumbling out of his mouth, his face panted pink. He looked down at the table the moment the words left his mouth, glancing up briefly at Barbara to see her reaction. Barbara’s expression was one of shock; eyes wide, mouth opening a closing like a fish out of water. She picked up her tea and gave it a sip.

“Honestly? That wasn’t what I was expecting,” she said with a slight laugh, taking another sip of tea. She was silent for a few moments longer as she considered carefully what she wanted to say. She took a deep breath and looked Roy in the eye and said “I wish I could help you Roy, but I can’t.” Roy raked his hands through his hair and sighed, pushing himself up onto his feet. He was about to speak when Barbara grabbed his arm and continued “it’s not because I don’t want to, Roy. But I _just_ had this conversation with Dick. It would be cruel for me to tell you the same thing.” Roy looked down at her with a neutral expression before he slowly sat back down across from him.

“Dick loves Jason to and I...told him to go for it. I wish I could tell you the same thing, but-”

“You’d feel like you were tearing apart our friendship?” Roy filled in. Barbara pursed her lips together and gave a nod. Roy nodded as well, as if confirming something to himself. He looked up at her again and said “I understand. I...know how Dick feels about Jason, which was why-”

“You couldn’t go to him? Yeah,” Barbara said with a laugh. The two of them sat in an awkward silence that stretch on for what felt like an eternity. Finally, Barbara looked up at him and asked “are you sure you’re in love with him? Can you...maybe tell me a little bit more about how you came to this conclusion?” Roy sighed into his hands again.

“Lately...whenever I think about...Dick and Jason being together...I get jealous,” Roy admitted. Barbara pulled a face, considering that in silence.

“Is that all?” she asked. Roy looked at her for a few moments, heaving another sigh.

“I...lately...we’ve been...well...I mean,” he stumbled over his own words, face heating up as he rubbed his neck nervously “we’ve...sort of been...sleeping together.” Barbara’s eyes widened slightly at that revelation, but otherwise, she didn’t seem overly surprised.

“Is it...serious? Or is this just a casual thing?” she asked.

“Casual,” Roy replied “but...I...get these feelings in my stomach. Whenever we...have sex. I mean, I never used to feel anything during sex with him. Wait, no that-”

“I get what you’re saying,” Barbara interrupted with laugh. Roy groaned and buried his face in his hands. He wished he could be himself right now, cocky attitude, completely shameless, but there was something about talking about these...feelings, this potential _love_ of his best friend that just...scattered him. He was embarrassed, fumbling over his words, he was completely unsure of himself, in short, he was sort of a mess.

“Roy,” she said softly. Roy looked up at her as she spoke. Barbara cleared her throat and patted his knee “have you considered...telling Jason how you feel?” Roy immediately shook his head.

“I can’t do that! I don’t want to ruin what we have now!” he protested. He relaxed back against the couch and sighed.

“Look, Roy. You _can’t_ ignore this. It’s just going to get worse, and Jason’s bound to notice something.” Barbara wheeled around the table, beside Roy and rubbed his shoulder soothingly “you’re Jason’s best friend. The worst that could happen is he tells you he’s not interested.” Roy looked dead in her eyes as she spoke, her words sincere.

“Yeah. Yeah, okay. You’re probably right. Jaybird and I have been friends for years. I don’t know why-”

“ _Because_ you’ve been friends for years. And considering...everything, you were scared,” she said, giving him a smile. Roy chuckled in amusement and gave her a hug which she gladly returned.

“You should be a psychologist, Barbara,” he complimented. Barbara laughed and playfully slapped his shoulder.

“God no. Poking around people’s heads? I’ll pass!” she replied, the two of them sharing another laugh. Roy sighed contentedly and got to his feet.

“Thank you Barbara, I appreciate this,” Roy told her. Barbara smiled up at him and followed him to the door.

“Take care Roy. And trust me, you’ll feel better when this is all out in the open!” she said to him.


	5. New Friends

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jason finds a dog wounded in an alleyway, a victim of dog fighting. Someone's going to die when he finds out who was responsible.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I...I don't know what this is. The story dictated, I just wrote it. But it's fluffy, and adorable, and hot, all in one little chapter. So, um. Enjoy? xD

The Red Hood shot the last of Black Mask’s men down in Crime Alley, who were using children as drug mules. That was unforgivable, and thus deserving of death. The Red Hood had adopted a new policy in his vigilantism, which earned him the respect of the GCPD: crimes against women, children, and animals were unforgivable crimes. And there was only one punishment for the Red Hood’s unforgivable crimes; death.

Black Mask was proving harder to track down this time around, because instead of staying in one place, instead of using a huge building and practically putting a target on his back, he was moving from safe house to safe house. This made it hard to pin him down, so in the meantime, Red Hood and Arsenal were putting a stop to his deals and his drug trade. Batman, Nightwing and Red Robin helped in their own way, but if one were to ask Hood, they were just ‘in the way’.

However, reports of other vigilantes started cropping up too as good Samaritans appeared in increasing numbers throughout Gotham. Following those rumors, were whispers that the Arkham Knights were back in town. Of course, only two people knew the answer to that question and it was unlikely they were ever going to give an answer.

“Arsenal, you hear me?” Red Hood said over the communicator in his helmet.

“Read you loud and clear, Hood. What’s up?” Arsenal returned. Hood glanced around the room at the dead thugs all around before turning back to the whimpering mess of a man in front of him, begging for his life. He apparently missed one.

“I’m on the last bit of my patrol. Calling it an earlier night. Just busted up a drug ring. Cleaning up the trash now,” Hood said casually, pulling the trigger on his gun and ending the scum crawling on the floor.

“Gotcha. See ya back at home base. Arsenal out.”

Hood holstered his guns and moved through the alleyways toward where he’d hidden his bike. As he drew nearer to it, he heard a whimpering noise. Curious, he followed it, and he stopped dead in his tracks when he founded a wounded dog. It had a bullet wound in its leg and several wounds all over its body. It was a pitbull and from what he could tell it refused to fight. Someone was fighting dogs here in the Bowery, and when a dog refused to fight, they tended to injure it and leave it for dead.

His blood boiling, Hood knelt down slowly and held his hand out. He pulled off his helmet, still wearing a red domino mask beneath. He made some calming noises and the dog limped toward him.

“C’mere. I won’t hurt you,” he said softly. The dog whimpered and dropped in front of him and Hood removed one of his gloves. The dog licked his hand and stared up at him. Hood looked him over and cursed.

“C’mere, we’re gonna get you all patch up. Sssh,” he whispered, gently lifting the dog up. The dog didn’t protest and Hood rushed over to his motorcycle. He looked it over for a few seconds, mentally trying to figure out how to get this to work. He cursed under his breath, because it couldn’t. 

So with the dog still in his arms, he raced down the streets of the Bowery on foot. He knew of a veterinarian in the area, a husband and wife who opened a free vet for the poor in the area, that helped stray animals and found them homes. They’d purchased the entire building a two story apartment building, and re-purposed the second floor as the clinic. 

It was under Hood’s personal protection, not that anyone knew that. Nobody ever attacked it and there was no reason too. Regardless, crimes against animals wouldn’t be tolerated and Hood decided then that he’d find this dog fighting right, and beat them all within an inch of their lives. And kill them, most likely.

He came to the apartment building where they were located and banged on the door. No answer. He tried again. After the third knock the door flew open.

“The Red Hood!” the brunette woman gasped. She attempted to close the door on him but he put his foot in it.

“Listen, I have a dog here that’s in rough shape. If you don’t help, he’ll die,” Hood said evenly. The husband came up from behind her and they both exchanged glances. The door swung open and they ushered him inside. Hood followed the husband to a makeshift clinic in the room above. Swinging open one of the doors, Hood carefully placed the dog down on an operating table.

“Linda,” the husband called, pulling on a stethoscope and waving his wife over. The brunette woman grabbed some tools off of a nearby shelf and joined him by the dog. The dog whimpered and she made a soft ‘sssh’ sound. She turned to Hood who was watching behind them and ushered him out of the room.

“He needs space to work and concentration. Please, wait out here,” she said to him. Hood gave a curt nod and did as instructed, taking a seat in the makeshift waiting room across the hallway. He sighed and pulled a hand through his hair before donning his helmet once more, and waited. 

Hours passed like minutes as The Red Hood waited patiently for news about the dog. He had always had a soft spot for animals, a little known fact about him and something he liked to keep a secret. He couldn’t have people thinking he was soft, after all! At long last though, his patience was rewarded. The wife, Linda, came through the door two hours later.

“Still here I see,” she said with a smile. Hood got to his feet and shrugged his shoulders.

“What can I say? I got a soft spot for animals. Just don’t go spreading that around,” he said casually. The woman chuckled in amusement and gestured for him to follow. He obeyed and she led him into the room where they’d been working on the dog.

“He’s a she, by the way,” Linda said to him gesturing to the dog who sat on the table, wagging her tail when he came into sight “and she knows who saved her.”

“Yes, indeed. It’s rare to meet people in this city who give a damn about animals,” came the husband’s voice, who came in from a separate part of the room, having just finished cleaning up. He extended his hand to Hood and said “my name is Adam. I want to thank you for saving this dog.”

“And regardless of what other people think, and bad person wouldn’t have given this poor girl a second thought,” Linda added, patting the dog’s ears. The dog whined happily and licked her hand. She pushed herself onto her feet, a little wobbly from the injures, and nodded her head toward Hood.

“I think she wants a pet from he one who saved her,” Adam said amusedly. Hood chuckled and removed a glove, patting the dog’s head. She seemed to like it, so he scratched her ears a little. He looked back up at the two of them and pulled away from the dog, heading for the door.

“Find her a god home, yeah?” he said casually. The couple exchanged glances, smiled, then nodded.

“We will.”

* * * * *

Roy stashed his gear into the closet and sighed deeply before he slipped back into the main room to see Jason waiting there, sitting on the couch seemingly waiting for him. 

“Well, well, well, what’s this?” Roy asked with a smirk, nothing the rather flirtations, borderline seductive, look on his face. Jason just chuckled low in his throat and waved Roy over, slowly unbuttoning his pants, pulling down the zipper.

“I’m horny. What do you think? You want a gold engraved invitation?” Jason said cockily. Roy felt that feeling in his stomach again; before he started...feeling things for Jason, sex with him was just about pleasure. It was all casual, but now...he kind of felt wrong to be doing thing, having feelings for the man, but something in him, something primal, a deep need to sate his urges, made it impossible for him to resist. He grinned at Jason and pulled his shirt off, moving to sit in Jason’s lap.

Roy pressed his lips against Jason’s, slipping his tongue into the man’s mouth and kissing him deeply while his hands slid up beneath the man’s shirt. He parted from the kiss to pull it off, tossing it to the floor, hands sliding over smooth, warm skin, lingering on the scars on his sides and his back. Jason titled his head back and Roy attacked his neck. His hands worked on Jason’s pants, pulling the zipper the rest of the way down before he began working on his own, sliding them and his boxers down, off his ass and onto the floor. Then Jason’s came off, and the man beneath him handed him a vial of lube.

“Come prepared, hmm? I like the way you think,” Roy purred before sealing their lips together. Jason pulled away and gasped when he felt a hand on his cock, obviously not expecting that. Roy spread the lube over his hardened flesh and Jason bit his lip to hold back a moan. A moment later, that moan released from his throat, low and long as Roy just sunk right down onto his cock with a groan.

“Mmm, c’mon Roy. Ride me,” Jason whispered in his hear, gripping his hips. Roy groaned low in his throat, using Jason’s shoulders for leverage as he began moving on top of Jason, riding him, hips rising and falled. Jason moaned loudly, thrusting up into Roy as he sunk back down. They got into a rhytm, the room filled with the sounds of moans and pants of pleasure, the sounds of skin slapping skin as their fucking became rough, brutal.

“Fuck, Jaybird, I-” Roy began, cut off as a particularly loud moan claws at his throat. Jason managed a sly smirk and the two of them soon found themselves in the floor, Roy on his back and Jason between his legs, fucking into him at a brutal pace.

“Jay, Jay! Damn, fuck, fuck, fuck!” Roy cried out, devolving into sobs of pleasure. His hand reached down to grab his dick, but Jason swatted it away, pinning his hands above his head. With a few more, rough thrusts, Roy came with a sobbing moan. Jason pumped into him a few more times, feeling his orgasm nearing.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck, Roy! Ungh!” Jason cried out as he came hard inside of him, a long loud moan clawing its way out of his throat before he fell on top of Roy. There they stayed, basking in the afterglow, breaths slowly starting to level out, when Roy pushed Jason off of himself. The man rolled over onto his back on the floor like a lifeless doll, breathing still a bit ragged.

“Ow,” Jason muttered with a small chuckle. Roy grunted and pushed himself into a sitting position on the floor, reaching up for the Kleenex and wiping himself clean.

“Mmm, damn. That was the most amazing sex we’ve had all month,” Roy said with a laugh. He sighed and let himself fall back onto the floor, the two men turning their heads to look at each other.

“So, what is it you want?” Roy asked with a cocky smirk. Jason chuckled breathlessly as he sat up reaching for his boxers and his pants and pulling them back on as he got to his feet. He threw Roy’s to him and helped the man up and then threw himself back down on the couch. With a contented sighed, he reached over to the side table and grabbed a cigarette, lighting it up and taking a few puffs.

“How would you feel about a dog?” Jason asked. Roy looked over at Jason and quirked an eyebrow.

“You want a dog? Is that what the amazing sex was for? Butter me up? Bribe me?” Roy teased. Jason gave him his classic puppy dog look that he knew Roy could never say no to.

“Aw, no! That’s so cheating!” Roy said with a laugh.

“C’mon Roy, just one dog! It isn’t even a big one! And she’s downright adorable! Please?” Jason asked with those pleading, puppy dog eyes of his. Roy groaned and scrubbed his face with his hands.

“You’re a fucker. Fine. But just one! And she’ll be your responsibility!” Roy replied with a laugh. Jason grinned widely and playfully punched Roy’s arm.

“Thanks. I already got one picked out, we can go pick her up tomorrow!” Jason said cheerily. Roy laughed in amusement at his friend’s happiness.

“You really do have a soft spot for animals, don’t you?” Jason just winked at him, putting of the cigarette and throwing it out before grabbing up a book and using Roy as a pillow.

“Just don’t tell anyone. I have a reputation to maintain.”


	6. Not Forgotten

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jason and Roy go to pick up their new dog, and Roy is stalling for time. But for what reason?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More keyboard vomit, yay!

Jason was awake early the next morning, sitting at the table and drinking his coffee while he read _The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy_. Most people would look at Jason Todd and would not see a reader, but underneath his rough and tough exterior, he was a geeky book lover. He had Alfred to thank for that, because before he even came to the manor, he could barely read or write. He was too preoccupied with doing whatever it took to survive.

Now that he had money and an education, however, he often spent money on books and spent most of his free time reading. At least, when TV sucked anyway, which was usually. He even had his own respectable book shelf packed with all sorts of books, from _Lord of the Rings_ to _Stephen King's Rose Red._

"G'morning," Roy muttered, dragging himself into the kitchen in naught but a pair of red briefs, hair still a mess. He grabbed his coffee cup out of the cabinet and poured himself a cup of coffee, then shuffling across the kitchen and flopping down at the table. Jason, who had been so engrossed in his book, hadn't even heard him.

"Hey, you alive over there?" Roy asked again with a smirk on his face. Jason's response was merely to flip him off. Roy snorted in amusement and reached across the table, snatching the book out of Jason's hand. Jason shot him a death glare and held his hand out for the book.

"Give me the book, Harper, or I'll rips your arm off," Jason said, tone both serious and playful. Roy laughed in amusement before handing it back.

"Note to self; don't fuck with Jason Todd's books," Roy muttered, sipping his coffee. Jason looked up at Roy over the top of his book with a playful gleam in his eyes.

"Damn fuckin' right you don't." The two men sat in silence for a little while longer, Roy just enjoying his coffee and Jason just reading his book. Finally, Jason clammed the book shut, startling Roy and said "okay, let's go pick up Princess!" Roy quirked an eyebrow at the name and Jason replied "the dog?"

"Oh god, Princess? Really?" He asked with a laugh. Jason frowned and crossed his arms over his chest.

"What's wrong with Princess?"

"Uh, everything? What about Lucky?"

"No."

"Angel?"

"No."

"Lexi?"

"Hmm. Maybe."

"We'll think about it on the way then. Let me get my ass up and dressed," Roy said with a shrug. Jason watched the man go before pushing himself up from his seat at the table, finishing his coffee and leaving the cup on the table. He kicked his boots on and flopped down on the couch, waiting patiently for Roy. The man came out fifteen minutes later, having freshly showered, wearing his favorite black and red hoodie, gray shirt, black jeans and sneakers. He ran a hand through his auburn hair and gestured toward the door.

"Alright, let's get going. This shouldn't take long, since you apparently know the dog you ant already," Roy said with a smirk. Jason snorted.

"Not as quickly as you'd think," Jason replied with a grin, following Roy out of the apartment. They took Roy's car down to the Bowery, where that animal shelter was located. The two of them hopped out of the car and Jason too the lead, giving a few hard knocks at the door. A few moments later, it swung open and the couple, Linda and Adam answered.

"Good morning! Are you here about an animal?" the woman asked. Jason gave a curt nod.

"We are."

"Come in, come in," she said with a smile. Jason and Roy entered the apartment as the woman gestured toward the upstairs. The woman followed after the two men and passed by them once they reached the top of the stairs. She pushed open a door to a bunch of kennels inside with various animals, dogs and cats mostly, then turned to the two of them.

"So are you two...together?" she asked. Jason and Roy glanced at each other and Roy just grinned, while Jason busted out in laughter. He patted Roy's back and shook his head.

"Nah, just friends," Jason replied. Roy simply nodded, though he couldn't deny feeling like someone just punched him in the gut.

"You okay Roy?" Jason asked, leaning forward to look into the man's face. Roy, snapped out of his reverie, just gave a nod.

"Yeah, just thinking."

"Explains the smoke."

"Bite me."

Jason chuckled in amusement and entered the room, spotting the dog he helped save last night almost immediately. But, to avoid any suspicion whatsoever, he first had to look around a bit.

"I thought you knew what dog you wanted?" Roy asked, earning an elbow to his gut. Roy grunted in response and Jason glanced over at the woman, who wasn't even paying attention to them.

"I do. But I kinda brought her here last night. She was wounded." Roy quirked an eyebrow at him and opened his mouth to speak, but Jason silenced him with a simple 'shut up.' So after a few more minutes of walking around the room, Jason knelt down in front of the kennel of the dog he saved last night. The dog hobbled over to him, tail wagging, and licked at his hand happily. Jason smiled at the dog, petting her snout a little through the bars.

"I like her. How about her?" Jason asked, glancing back at Linda. Linda knelt down beside him and opened the kennel door, coaxing the dog out. She laid down and rolled over on her back in front of Jason, who smiled and rubbed her belly.

"This one came in last night. Poor thing was injured from dog fighting."

"Oh? Who brought her in?" Jason asked, earning look from Roy. Jason just smirked at him. Linda placed a collar around the dog's neck and attacked a leash, handing it to Jason.

"The Red Hood, if you can believe it."

"The Red Hood, huh? Sounds a bit weird," Jason said evenly, turning his attention back on the dog. Linda chuckled in amusement and moved across the room.

"You're telling me. It was quite the shock when he showed up at our door with a wounded dog," she returned with a small paper bag and a bag of dog food, handing them to Roy, then said to Jason "but anyone who would care enough to stop and help a wounded animal in this god forsaken city can't be too bad." Jason just nodded in agreement and got up to his feet. The woman pointed to the small bag that Roy was holding and said "that's pain medication. Just put a few drops in her water a few times a day. She'll be in a bit of pain for about a month or so." She knelt down and rubbed the dog's neck, earning herself a few kisses from the dog.

"Sure thing. Ready to go, Chloe?" Jason asked. The dog looked up at him, tail wagging and barked once. Roy looked at him, quirking an eyebrow, and Jason gave a shrug.

"What? She looks like a Chloe!" Jason defended. Roy just grinned at him and patted his back.

"Well, you take care of her," Linda said. Jason gave a curt nod.

"Of course. C'mon girl." The three of them, Roy, Jason and Chloe left the building. Chloe had a bit of trouble getting into the car on account of her injured leg, so Jason lifted her up and into the backseat.

"You're a big teddy bear, y'know that?" Roy asked, hopping into the driver's seat and starting the car. Jason snorted and hopped into the passenger's seat, glancing over at Roy.

"Yeah well, just don't go spreading it around. Now shut up and get driving. We have shopping to do," Jason said with a smirk. Roy just grinned and shook his head, taking off down the street to the local pet shop.

"Shopping for little Chloe, are we?" he asked, glancing back at the dog in the rear view mirror. Chloe's head popped up, her eyes matching Roy's in the mirror and her tail started wagging. Roy chuckled in amusement at the dog, which seemed to only get her tail wagging faster.

"She's cute," Roy commented. Jason looked back at the dog, her tail wagging faster when he reached back to scratch her ears.

"Here we are," Roy said smoothly, pulling up to the store.

* * * * *

Roy and Jason spent a good three hours out pf the apartment, first shopping at the pet store for Chloe, then shopping for clothes, mostly for Roy, until finally, Roy ran out of excuses to keep from going home, which made Jason a little suspicious.

"Roy, you spent two hours shopping for clothes and all we got was a couple of hoodies for you, and a new pair of jeans for me. What's going on? Are you a woman in disguise?" Jason asked. Roy busted out laughing as he stopped the car in front of their apartment building. The two friends hopped out, Chloe in tow and Roy grabbed the bags out of the car.

"You'll see," Roy replied.

"Roy, what'd you do?"

"You'll see." The two men made it up the stairs to their apartment, Jason carrying Chloe on account of her leg and Roy threw open the door, gesturing for him to go inside. Jason set the dog down and took off her leash and Chloe immediately made herself at home on the couch. Jason looked around the room in surprise; it had been cleaned, but they'd been gone half the morning, so who-

"Ah, Master Jason, you have returned," came Alfred's voice. Jason turned, a shocked look on his face as he saw Alfred standing in the door way to their kitchen. Roy closed the door and smiled at Jason, slipping past Alfred and into the kitchen.

"Alfred, what-" but he was cut off when the man hugged him.

"Happy birthday Master Jason," Alfred said with a smile, ushering him into the kitchen. There on the table, was a birthday cake; vanilla with chocolate frosting and a pair of number 2 candles. Today has Jason's 22nd birthday.

"Birthday? Oh," Jason muttered to himself, quite surprised. He had forgotten about his own birthday, since he had stopped caring over the last five years. The last thing he was expecting was anyone else to remember it.

Alfred slipped past him and lifted a couple of boxes off the floor, gift wrapped, with a card.

"How did you find us, Alf?" Jason asked, sitting at the table. Alfred scoffed and placed the gifts on the table. He turned to Jason and gave him a smirk.

"Master Bruce and Master Dick are not the only detectives, sir. I have my ways, and I have not forgotten about you," Alfred explained, gesturing to the cake.

"Blow 'em out Jaybird," Roy said with a laugh, sitting at the table across from him. Jason smiled a genuine smile, his second that day, and the third in many years, as he gestured toward the seat next to him, which Alfred gladly took, and blew out the candles. Alfred handed a card to Jason, which he opened first. There was a message inside, from Dick and Barbara

_You were gone, but never forgotten, Jaybird. No matter how angry you are at us, we still love you. Take care of yourself, and maybe let us in once in a while? Loved you, and happy birthday._

_Dick_

_Barbara_

"Huh," Jason muttered to himself, reading over the card a second time.

"Master Dick and Miss Gordon did not wish to make you uncomfortable. They do not know where you live. They did not search you out. They believed you needed space. Time and space," Alfred explained, handing him a small gift box with Bruce's name on it.

"So, Bruce remembered after all?" Jason asked with a sour look on his face. He looked up at Alfred, but he did not answer. He unwrapped it, and found a picture frame inside. But it was the picture that caught his attention: it was a picture of him and Bruce, from when he was fourteen. They were both wearing baseball gloves and caps and Bruce was behind him, hand on his shoulder, free hand tossing the ball. Jason stared at it, blanked faced for a few long moments, then he looked up at Alfred and gave a shrug.

"He wanted you to know that he never forgot you, Jason," Alfred said smoothly. Jason gave a nod and placed the picture down on the table. He was still pissed as hell, but...maybe he could be slightly less pissed for now. He opened a gift from Dick next and frowned. It was a book, but more importance, he recognized this book. It was a hardcover book, _Artemis Fowl_ , and the cover had a small tear at the top.

_It had been a whole month since Jason had come to the manor. He'd struggled to read, which made learning harder. Growing up on the streets, he didn't get to go to school, which meant reading was more of a luxury than anything else. But he was learning, slowly._

_He was trying to read a book called Artemis Fowl that he's swiped from Dick's bookshelf, but was struggling with it and had been stuck on page three for the last fifteen minutes. With a frustrated sigh, he threw the book down and a little tear ripped at the top of the cover. He freaked out because Dick walked in at that moment to check up on him._

_"Dick I'm sorry, I didn't mean-"_

_"It's okay. Bruce told me you were having trouble reading, so I thought I'd come and, y'know. Help you," Dick said, face practically shining with one of those beautiful smiles that always had Jason's stomach doing back flips. Dick picked the book up and sat on the bed next to Jason._

_"I'll read it to you, how about that? And you just follow along?"_

_"Read to me? That's what babies do, Dick. I'm fourteen," Jason protested, face burning and flushed red. Dick laughed in amusement and kissed the side of his head._

_"You want to learn, don't you?" he asked. Jason's face lit a darker shade of red and he nodded. Dick smiled at the teen and ruffled his hair, pointing at a passage where they were going to start._

_"Ho Chi Minh City in the summer. Sweltering by anyone's standards..."_

"Sentimental bastard," Jason muttered, unable to conceal the smile tugging at his lips. The next hour or so was spent conversing with Roy and Alfred, while the man worked to clean the place., They had cake, Alfred cooked them a nice lunch of cheeseburgers and fries, Jason's favorite, and then Alfred left with a hug.

"Well, traitor," Jason began and Roy raised his hands defensively.

"In all fairness, it was fun right?" Roy asked. Jason pulled a face and gave a shrug.

"Exactly what I was going to say. But as punishment for your betrayal, no sex."

"Ouch," Roy mock pouted, earning a laugh from Jason. The two of them retreated to the living room and turned on the TV, opting to watch a movie or two before preparing for patrol that night. Jason stretched out on the couch and Roy made himself comfortable on the recliner, and Chloe was fast asleep in her new doggy bed. It wasn't until the first movie ended that Jason started to get this feeling that something was wrong. The next thing he new, his cell phone rang. Sighing, he sat up and grabbed it off of the coffee table. It was Dick. He frowned at it before answering.

"What do you want Dick?" he asked, reclining back on the couch.

"Jaybird," Dick said softly, sounding obviously upset. That made Jason nervous.

"Alfred's been shot."


	7. Payback is a Bitch

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jason races down to the hospital to check on Alfred. When he learns what happened, he decides that a little payback is in order.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the short chapter. Little writer's blocked on this one. ~_~

Jason fell onto the couch, distraught by the news. He could hear Dick called his name over the phone, but he just lifelessly hung up on him.

“Jaybird? What’s the matter?” Roy asked, sitting down beside the man. Jason’s expression changed on a dime and now he looked pissed. Jamming his phone it his pocket, he stored toward the door and grabbed his brown leather jacket. Roy was up off the couch in an instant, following after the man. He grabbed his shoulder and spun him around.

“Jay, what’s up?” Roy asked again. Jason shot him a murderous look that made him flinch.

“Alfred’s been shot,” Jason said in a low, deathly calm tone. Roy stared at him, wiped eyes, mouth agape.

“Mark my words, Roy,” Jason said, grabbing up the keys to his motorcycle and pointing at the man “someone will die for this.” Jason stormed out of the door, leaving Roy behind. The man tried to catch up with him, racing around the apartment to find his shoes and his jacket, but by the time he got downstairs, Jason had already taken off down the street on his motorcycle.

As he sped down the street toward Gotham General Hospital, Jason was keenly aware of the fact that Bruce, Dick, Tim and Barbara would all be there. Alfred was worth whatever crap they gave him though, and he’d be sure to give it right back. 

The hospital came into view minutes later and he tightened his grip on the handle bars of the bike, both hesitant to see Alfred in whatever state he was in, and angry at the people who did it, blood singing and one, powerful thought singing like a chorus in his mind: Revenge.

Jason parked his bike and rushed into the building, pushing past people and not bothering to apologize to anyone. He came to the front desk and asked after Alfred. Everything around him was a blurr as he raced down to the man’s room. He stopped in the doorway to see the man fast asleep, with Bruce, Dick, Tim and Barbara all gathered around him.

“Jason,” Dick breathed, tears pricking at his eyes. He entered the room, shoving Dick aside as the man approached and stopped beside the bet. He and Bruce met eyes and you could see the sparks dancing between them; Bruce knew what Jason was planning to do.

“Jason-”

“Don’t fucking start,” Jason growled, low and threatening.

“Both of you, stop. Now is not the time,” Dick snapped angrily. Both men glanced back at Dick who returned to Alfred’s side. He looked to Jason and their eyes met. It was Jason who looked away first, and Dick closed the space between them and hugged him. Jason didn’t hug back, but he didn’t struggle against it either. His eyes were locked on Alfred, mind contemplating all the ways he could kill the man responsible.

Dick parted from Jason and rubbed his back before he sighed deeply and move across the room to sit in a nearby chair.

“What. Happened?” Jason asked, looking around the room at each of them.

“Black Mask-” Tim blurted out, silenced by a well placed glare from Bruce. Jason’s brow furrowed and his fists clenched. His jaw worked angrily, teeth grinding. If Black Mask was responsible for Alfred’s condition, if Alfred died, Black Mask would suffer, severely, before he died.

“Jason-”

“Shut up,” Jason said evenly, locking eyes with the man “what. Happened. I won’t ask again. I’ll hack the GCPD if I have to, I don’t care. Pick your poison." Everyone save for Bruce flinched at the venom in Jason’s tone. What was worse, was that he spoke in a completely calm, even tone. Jason was beyond pissed.

“Wayne Enterprises has been funding efforts to take down Black Mask,” Barbara began. Tim cleared his throat, glancing at Bruce who wore a neutral expression.

“Alfred...was a message. To get Bruce Wayne to back down,” Tim said.

“He’s stable, but he’s in a medically induced coma,” Dick said with a sigh, raking his hands through his hair. He got to his feet and approached the bed, looking down at the butler’s pale face with sorrowful eyes “the damage was...bad. Several bullet wounds. He survived, and they managed to stabilize him, but...because of his old age...”

Jason glared around the room, jaw working as he fought to maintain control over his temper. Without another word, he stormed out of the hospital room. Dick made a move to follow him, but Bruce stopped him with a simple hand on his shoulder. Dick glanced back at Bruce with a sorrowful expression, because he knew that underneath his anger, Jason was hurting, and he wanted to help.

* * * * *

The Red Hood sat perched atop a building thumbing through his phone. He had been receiving texts, news articles, and hacked info from the GCPD and Black Mask for the past hour, from his Arkham Knights. It was fortunate that he and Arsenal had broken them out of Blackgate, because with their help, they’d managed to slow Black Mask down quite a bit. Nightwing, Batman, and Red Robin helped too, of course, but their methods wouldn’t be enough to stop Black Mask. Not permanently, anyway...

“A drug bust, an intimidation racket, and an attempted assassination all in one night. Black Mask has been quite busy,” Arsenal said over the comm link. Hood’s eyes narrowed.

“Two assassination attempts,” he corrected.

“Right, sorry,” Arsenal replied. Hood didn’t answer. He heaved a sigh and pocketed the phone, pulling out a grappling gun and swinging down from the building he was perched on. He landed on the roof of Gotham General Hospital, and climbed down to the window to Alfred’s room and slipped inside, closing it behind himself. He sighed again as he looked over the old butler and sat in the chair beside his bed. He pulled off his helmet, still wearing a blood red domino mask and held the helmet in his hands as he stared at the old man with a sorrowful expression.

He didn’t trust that Black Mask might make another attempt, so if he had to sit here all night and watch him, protect him, he would. He had a lot of good memories of Alfred. As a teenager, he’d always had so much anger, so much rage, but also a lot of pain. Alfred had always been more patient with him than Bruce, and always had an ear to spare when he needed someone to listen. Alfred was never too busy for him.

He was snapped from his thoughts by the sound of a window opening. Purely on muscle memory, he drew a gun and pointed it toward the window. Nightwing had slipped inside and had his hands raised defensively.

“Oh, it’s just you,” Hood said evenly. Nightwing snorted.

“Gee thanks,” he replied with a smirk, closing the window behind him. He slipped across the room to a chair in the corner and said “hello to you too, Jaybird.”

“And what brings you here, Dickie-bird?” Jason asked, quirking an eyebrow. Dick peeled his mask off the flashed him a smile.

“Bruce was worried about Alfred, wanted to watch over him. I offered to instead.”

“Isn’t that sweet.”

“Hey, he was important to me too, Jason.”

“I know. Sorry.”

The two men sat in silence, just watching Alfred, keeping their eyes peeled for any danger. Dick finally sat up and gave a sigh.

“Look, Jason, now might not be a good time. Hell, there may...never be a good time,” Dick murmured, looking up at Jason. Jason pinched the bridge of his nose and shook his head.

“You’re right, now’s not a good time, so don’t,” Jason interrupted. Dick frowned, but before he could get a word in, Jason continued “look, I know what you want to say. Some sentimental crap about being in love with me, and that praise bull crap you do, but don’t.” Jason turned to Dick, looked him square in the eye and added “I’m sorry Dick, but I’m just...not interested.”

Dick chuckled in amusement, dragging a confused look out of Jason.

“You’re lying. I can tell, but I’ll leave it be for now,” he replied. Jason turned his face to hide the blush that began to blossom on his face. It was true, he was lying. He still loved Dick, but Dick deserved better than him, whether he realized it or not. 

For the time being, the two of them returned to silence, just watching, waiting. Until Jason’s phone rang again. He dug through his pocket for the phone and opened the message; it was a text from Arsenal. He’d met up with a couple of his Knights and together, they found Alfred’s would-be-Assassin. Jason grinned to himself and got to his feet, pulling on his helmet.

“What’s up?” Nightwing asked, sitting up in his seat. Hood gave him a smirk before he headed for the window, grappling up to the building across the way. Nightwing frowned, and accessed his communicator.

“Oracle, this is Nightwing. Can you track Jason? I think he found the man who targeted Alfred.”

* * * * *

Red Hood and Arsenal had the man responsible for Alfred’s condition tied to a chair in the middle of the room of one of Hood’s old safe houses. The man had a bloody nose, blood running down his chin and a black eye; Hood had made this personal. He knew Nightwing would try to follow him, so he cloaked himself from all forms of tracking, save for visual, to make it more difficult for them to find him.

He dragged the man here to one of Black Mask’s shipping warehouses and they both beat down each and every one of Black Mask’s men, to make an example out of them, and the assassin, and to send a message to Black Mask.

“So Black Mask barks, and you jump. You’re a pussy,” Red Hood snapped, slamming the man’s knee cap with a hammer. The man shrieked in pain as a loud crack echoed throughout the room. Even Arsenal flinched at Hood’s brutality. He grabbed the man by the arm and pulled him aside.

“Tone it down, would you? This is getting a little out of hand. I know you’re pissed, but-”

“He’s getting what he deserves,” Hood growled darkly. Arsenal took a step back at the malice in Hood’s voice. Obviously he took Alfred’s health and well being dead seriously. Hood said nothing else and neither did Arsenal. He drew a gun and jammed it against the man’s temple.

* * * * *

Nightwing swooped down from the Wing Glider above and landed on top of the building, silently hoping Jason hadn’t killed the man. He slipped inside, through the glass roof and down into the main complex below. The Red Hood and Arsenal were long gone, but what he found inside was...pretty bad. The unconscious bodies of Black Mask’s thugs littered the room and in the middle of them, was Alfred’s would-be assassin, tied up and beaten pretty badly. Nightwing checked for a pulse...the man was dead. Nightwing sighed, slightly disappointed, but looked around the room at all the other men; all unconscious but alive. It was something, at least. Nightwing contacted the GCPD and slipped out of the building.

Jason had killed two or three of them, but not everyone. Perhaps there was some hope for him after all? What he really wanted to do, was track him down, talk to him, but he felt that now wasn’t the right time. So he settled for something else...

* * * * *

Jason was sitting on the couch of in his apartment, drinking himself stupid to help keep his temper in check. It took all he had to spare that fucking assassin. Roy meanwhile, was passed out, exhausted in the bedroom. His phone rang and he sighed, finding a text from Dick.

_Thanks. I know it was hard, but thanks._

Jason snorted softly to himself, eyeing the message again. He was too drunk to respond and he wasn’t sure what to say, so he pocketed the phone and sighed, turning his attention back to...whatever the hell was on.

“Golden boy,” he muttered to himself, rolling his eyes.


	8. Confessions and Confusions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roy finally fesses up, but Jason doesn't know what to do or say with this new information.

Roy was freaking out in the bedroom with Jason still passed out on the couch. He had told a little white lie to Jason last night, that he was tired and going to bed. What he was really doing, was talking to Barbara on his phone for advice; advice on how to talk to Jason about how he really felt. Barbara had been pretty patient with him, but he could tell by the tone of her voice she was slightly annoyed. And of course there was the joke she made near the end of their conversation: you men have the emotional range of a teaspoon.

Her recommendation, given in a polite, roundabout manor, was basically to just man up and tell him. And so Roy was now working up the courage to do just that. As soon as Jason woke up, of course. He’d likely have a killer hang over, since he drank quite a bit last night. He’d seen the effort Jason had put in specifically not to kill every man in that room. IF he’d been in Jason’s shoes and someone he loved had been targeted, he wasn’t sure he could have held back himself.

But onto business. Roy moved into the kitchen, fully dressed in a red t-shirt and a pair of jeans, ruffling his own hair as he got to work on breakfast and a hangover cure for Jason. Well, a remedy more or less, something he picked up over the years. And right on cue, Jason finally woke up to the sounds of Roy working in the kitchen. 

“Mmm, what time is it?” Jason asked groggily, dragging himself up off the couch. Roy glanced over his shoulder with a smirk on his face. Jason’s usual morning scowl was both cute and funny. He watched as the man dragged himself into the kitchen while he cooked pancakes for the both of them, glancing over his shoulder once more.

“G’morning Jaybird. It’s only nine in the morning. Honestly, I expected you to be out like a light until at least noon, givne how hammered you were,” Roy said nonchalantly with a shrug of his shoulders. Jason glanced up at him and snorted, holding his hand out for a cup of coffee.

“Coffee,” he grunted, burying his face in his arm. Roy chuckled in amusement and set the pan down, grabbing up the drink he prepared in pushing it into Jason’s hand. The man took a sip of it without looking and snorted.

“This ain’t coffee, Roy. What the hell is this?” He asked, clearly not amused. Roy returned to cooking and waved his hand dismissively.

“Hangover remedy. Lemon, Honey, and Cinnamon tea. Freshly squeezed lemon juice, a dab of honey and a stick of cinnamon. Drink it, it’ll help,” Roy said smoothly, dropping a pancake onto a plate and sliding it across the table to Jason. Jason sniffed it and pulled a look and Roy frowned at him

“Aw c’mon, just try it you big baby,” he teased. Jason responded by flipping him off.

“Fine. But get me coffee,” Jason replied, sipping the drink. Roy just waved him off.

“Yeah, yeah, ya Grinch.”

“Bite me.”

“Only during sex.” Jason grabbed his fork and attempted ti wing it at Roy, but the man stopped him.

“Jason Peter Todd, you throw that fork at me, I’ll toss you in a cold shower,” he said without turning around. Jason glared at him, shivering at the mere thought and slowly lowered the fork back onto the table, muttering under his breath,

“Jerk.”

“Bitch.”

Roy chuckled in amusement, moving across the room as he finished cooking the pancakes then started a pot of coffee, grabbing the syrup from the cabinet, and sliding into his chair. He drowned his pancakes in syrup and slid it across the table to Jason, who grunted in reply and poured it over his own. The two men ate in silence, and Jason seemed to perk up a little after finishing that drink Roy had made for him.

“Well shit, that stuff actually works,” Jason said, holding the empty glass in his hand, eyes staring at it before he turned his attention to Roy.

“Told you so,” Roy replied smugly. Jason pulled a face and mocked him, earning the finger in response. They finished breakfast after a bit of horsing around, mostly throwing names back and forth, and one coffee cup that Roy had fortunately caught before it smashed against something.

It wasn’t until Jason had a cup of coffee in hand that Roy decided to try and break the news. And it was pretty big news because he was still afraid of how Jason would react. Part of him believed Barbara, or wanted to, that Jason wouldn’t freak the hell out and disown their friendship or some crazy shit like that, but this was Jason. Not to be a hater, but Jason wasn’t exactly the committed type.

The two of them sat in silence, sipping their coffee with Jason occasionally glancing up at Roy. He was pretty perceptive and he could tell that Roy wanted to say something to him. He was patient, but only because Roy was his _best friend._ Roy glanced over the rim of his cup at Jason and a blush blossomed on his face which he somehow managed to beat down.

“What is it, Roy?” Jason finally asked, reclining in his chair, one arm draped over the back of it, the other toying with his empty coffee cup and a foot up on the table. Roy sighed, raking a hand through his short auburn hair. He fiddled with his cup a bit, put it down, picked it back up.

“Well, Jaybird,” Roy began, face starting to heat up. Jason took a sip from his coffee while he waited for Roy to go on. 

“I think I’m in love with you,” he blurted out, closing his eyes and bowing his head, feeling like he was not physically able to look at his friend. Jason, who was mid sip of his coffee, choked on it, sat up, nearly falling out of the chair, and spewing his coffee everywhere, followed by another round of coughs. Roy opened one eye to check on the man, but it didn’t look good.He opened his eyes and watched him, biting his lip.

“Jay-” Jason interrupted him, holding up a finger as he coughed a little more. He cleared his throat a few times, sat up right in his chair and looked at Roy. Silence. For the next few moments, Jason sat there looking completely dumbfounded, his mouth opening a closing, gaping like a fish out of water as he struggled to find the words. He did finally manage to find a couple.

“What did you just say?” he asked, face still contorted in surprise by the revelation. Roy cleared his throat, his face burning redder than his shirt, toying with the collar a bit.

“I...said that...I think...that maybe I-I’m...in love with you,” he said in a low tone, unable to look at Jason. Jason gave an absent nod and sat back in his chair, still wide-eyed with shock. He raked his hand threw his hair, fiddling absently with the lock of white hanging in front of his face as he tried to find a few more words. His vocabulary seemed to have abandoned him. But he could be forgiven for that, right? His best friend just told him he had feelings for him. That shouldn’t be a big deal, right? Well, no. Because he didn’t know what to do about that.

“Jaybird, say something, please?” Roy practically begged, leaning heavily on the table, toward Jason. Jason looked over at Roy, hand combing through his hair once more. He sighed deeply and considered his words carefully.

“Roy,” Jason began, licking his lips once, twice then said “I...shit. Honestly, I...don’t know what to say.” Honesty was the best policy, but when people’s feelings were involved, people he actually cared about...it got complicated. Very easily. Jason sighed again, shaking his head.

“I...don’t know Roy. I mean, we dated when we were _sixteen,_ ” Jason pointed out, leaning on the table now and locking eyes with Roy “and it didn’t work. Why...why now? I don’t mean to ridicule you, pal, but...just...why? After all this time?”

Roy sighed and leaned back in his chair as he contemplated the answer. Honestly, he didn’t really know why. Could Barbara’s _other_ theory be right? That he wasn’t in love, just lonely? He didn’t know, but it felt like love.

“I don’t know,” Roy said honestly with a shrug of his shoulders. Jason sighed again and leaned back in his chair, hand combing through his hair yet again as he tried to make sense of this.

“Fuck, Roy. All those times we...slept together...shit,” Jason began and Roy could see he was beating himself up over it.

“Don’t do that, Jaybird,” Roy said evenly. Jason looked up at him and frowned but he didn’t get the chance to speak “I...chose to sleep with you I knew the deal. It was all casual. No strings attached. I should have told you sooner, so don’t worry about it.” Jason just gave a curt nod.

“Well...when did it start?” Jason asked. Roy blushed a deep shade of red and Jason grinned like the devil.

“Oh my god, Roy...are you jealous of Dick?” Jason asked with a laugh. Roy glared at him, face beet red. Jason’s laughter finally died down and noted the expression on his friend’s face.

“I’m sorry, it’s just...you don’t have to be jealous of Dick, because it’s never going to happen. He’s-”

“Not too good for you, Jaybird. So stop saying it. Besides, he’s in love with you, and you’re...” Roy trailed off, unable to finish that sentence. Jason’s own face flushed a bit as he sunk back into his chair.

“Roy...I...I’m gonna go for a walk. I need to think,” Jason said, getting up on his feet. He shuffled into the living room, kicking on a pair of boots and pulling on a black canvas jacket. He turned toward the kitchen, noting a rather sorrowful expression on his friend’s face.

“Look, Roy...it’s not you. I just need to clear my head,” he said casually. He grabbed the leach off of the table and called for Chloe, who limped over, tail wagging. Now would be a good time to walk the dog, he figured.   
As much as he and Roy threw barbs at each other, poked fun, and sometimes fought, he could never _intentionally_ hurt Roy. Roy was like the brother he never had. He and Roy had always looked out for each other. It was a close friendship, almost a brotherhood, and even when they were downright furious with each other, even when they had arguments and fights that would have shattered most friendships, they always patched it up and went back to being buddies again, like it never happened.

The key to it all, was because they understood each other. Their pasts were pretty crappy, they both had their insecurities, their vulnerabilities, things that they shared with each other and no one else. There were even a few things from his childhood he hadn’t even told Dick. But Roy, he could talk to Roy about _anything_. And Roy could come to Jason about _anything_. Not many people had what they had.

And so Jason was walking down the streets with Chloe in front of him, sniffing around and tail wagging at the people passing by, with his thoughts running rampant, trying to make sense of this new information. Roy Harper, his best friend since they were teenagers, was in love with him. What did he do with that? He’d never...thought about them...together before. Not since they tried dating, which didn’t really work. Unless...Roy felt this way back then too and just didn’t know it? Didn’t realize it? But no, he was Roy’s best friend. He would have been able to tell...would he?

Roy confessed to him, and he was completely shocked. So perhaps he wouldn’t have known and perhaps he wasn’t as perceptive as he thought. Jason raised his head, pulling himself out of his own thoughts and saw the park across the street. He smiled down at Chloe who was looking up at him with her tail wagging slowly.

“You want to go to the park girl?” he asked. He tail started to wag faster and he chuckled in amusement “okay girl, let’s go to the bark.” Chloe jumped a bit, as best as she could with her injured leg, tail going and she gave a bark, trying to pull Jason toward the park.

“Slow down girl,” he said with a laugh. They made it to the park and Chloe seemed to be in heaven. She dropped down onto the grass and started rolling around in it. But once Jason unhooked that leash, she took off and chased after the ducks despite her limp. Jason laughed as the ducks scattered and she barked after then, tail wagging happily. He trusted her to come back on her own, or when he called her, so he sat down on a nearby park bench wand just watched her. This also gave him some time to try and figured out how to handle this.

And just when he thought the Universe couldn’t possibly be any more unkind to him, He heard an all too familiar laugh, looking in its direction, he spotted Dick, and Barbara headed his way. Jason growled to himself and tried to bury himself in his jacket and oped they wouldn’t noticed him, but he couldn’t be that lucky.

“Jason?” Barbara called. Dick looked up and spotted him too, and there it as; that smile, and Jason’s stomach started doing back flips, like always. He took a deep breath to chase the feeling away, masking it to appear just casual.

“Barbara. Dick,” he said smoothly, crossing his arms over his chest and turning his attention back to Chloe, who seemed more than content to hobble after the ducks. Barbara and Dick turned, following his gaze toward the dog. Barbara gasped.

“Oh, is she yours?” she asked. A smirk tugged at the corner of Jason’s lips and he gave a nod.

“She is. How did you know she was...well, a she?” Jason asked. Barbara just winked at him.

“Women’s intuition,” she replied. Dick chuckled in amusement and then his and Jason’s eyes met. They shared a look for a few moments before looking away, both of them blushing a little. Barbara glanced back and forth between them and giggled.

“What’s so funny?” they asked in unison.

“Nothing,” she replied innocently. Jason got to his feet and let out a loud whistle. Chloe stopped immediately, head turning toward his direction.

“C’mon girl!” Jason called with a wave. Chloe’s tail started wagging ecstatically as she ran, hobble and all, back toward Jason. She stopped in front of him, tail still going and sat down waiting patiently for a pet. Jason smiled at her and knelt down, scratching her ears and neck.

“This is Chloe. I saved her from dog fighters. Who, when I find them, will be dealt with,” Jason said evenly. Barbara and Dick exchanged a look, but didn’t comment. Instead, Barbara called her over and Chloe happily hobbled toward her. Dick and Barbara both patted the dog, and she rolled over on her back, just soaking it all on.

“Aw, she’s such a ham!” Barbara said with a laugh.

“She’s really sweet,” Dick commented, smiling up at Jason. Jason heaved a sigh, hand raking through his hair. He looked around the park, eyes scanning his surroundings, mind still wandering, thinking about Roy’s earlier confession. He glanced down at his watch and realized he’d already been gone an hour. How the hell did that happen?

“Barbara,” Jason called, expression blanking so as not to betray anything. Barbara and Dick both looked up at Jason. He cleared his throat and asked “do you think I could talk to you about something? Alone?” Dick and Barbara exchanged glances and then Dick flashed a smile. He stood up at full height and hesitated for a moment. Jason rolled his eyes and waved him over.

“God, get over here and get it over with,” Jason said flatly. Dick smiled at him and hugged the man.

“You and your fucking hugs,” Jason muttered. Dick laughed, patting the man on the back.

“Everyone loves my hugs,” he replied. Jason just shooed him away.

“Yeah yeah, now get out of here before I shoot you,” Jason answered. Dick chuckled to himself and bid Barbara goodbye, making his way from the park. Barbara turned her attention back to Jason and wheeled toward him as he sat back down on the park bench.

“Let me guess; you have feelings for Dick, and you don’t know what to do?” Barbara asked with a sly smile. Jason glanced over at her and quirked an eyebrow.

“Well, you’re half-right. I like him, but I know what to do; nothing. He deserves better than me, but-”

“Jason, this self-hate stuff really needs to stop. You may act all big and tough, but I know underneath it all, you’re a really sweet guy, and-”

“Barbara. That’s not what I wanted to talk to you about,” Jason interrupted with a frown. Barbara pulled a face and gave a slow nod.

“Oh. Well...what then?” Jason shifted on the bench a few times, taking a few breaths, clearing his throat once or twice, but before he could say anything, Barbara read him like a book and made an ‘oh’ sound.

“I see. Roy finally confess to you, didn’t he?” Barbara asked. Jason looked at her with mild surprise and she laughed, waving her hand dismissively “oh yeah, I knew. Who do you think he talked to about it? Really, I should start charging you guys. Your emotional constipation could net me a fortune as a psychologist.” Jason snorted with held back laughter and she smirked at him, playfully slapping his arm.

“Anyway, so, yeah. Roy dropped that bombshell on me this morning-”

“And you don’t know how to handle the information,” Barbara finished with a cocky smirk. She giggled a bit and added “emotional constipation.” Jason snorted and shot her a look, and she raised her hands defensively “go on.”

“I don’t know what to do. Or...say to him. He’s my best friend and we have been since we were teenagers. I don’t want to hurt him...but,” Jason paused, a slight blush painting his face.

“But?”

“Well...we may have dated a little bit back before I kicked the bucket,” Jason finally said, turning his head to look at Barbara. She put on a thoughtful expression.

“Do you think about you and Roy together?” she asked. Jason’s blush darkened and he shook his head. Silence. After a few moments of silence, Jason gave a shrug of his shoulders.

“Not really, but...well, I’ve never really given the idea any thought. Me and Roy together? I mean, not since we dated last time, because it didn’t work. I guess I figured-”

“If it didn’t work then, it wouldn’t work now?” Barbara filled in. Jason gave a curt nod, looking over at Barbara again. She sighed and crossed her arms over her chest.

“Well...why don’t you give it a try? See if there’s anything there?”

“And what about Dickie-bird?” Jason asked, quirking an eyebrow. Barbara frowned.

“Okay, yeah, it sucks and it feels like I’m potentially breaking up a friendship here, but I’m not gonna play favorites either. This is my advice; date him a little bit, see if you feel anything, if there’s a spark there. Do what you want with my advice,” she replied with a shrug. Jason gave a nod and got to his feet, whistling for Chloe.

“Thanks Barbara. Anywhere you wanna go?” Jason asked, wheeling her out of the park.

“Yes. Home,” she replied.

* * * * *

Jason returned to the apartment, an hour and a half having passed since he’d left to ‘go for a walk’. He closed the door behind himself, hanging up his canvas jacket and unhooking Chloe’s leash. She immediately made for her doggy bed, laying down for a nap. Jason kicked his boots off and moved through the apartment to find Roy. Surprisingly, he was still sitting at the kitchen table.

“Have you been here this whole time,” Jason asked in amusement. Roy looked up at him and shrugged.

“Nah. You know me, I can’t sit still for too long,” Roy replied, leaning back in his chair. Jason chuckled a bit before pulling out a chair and sitting across from him. He clasped his hands together on the table and heaved a sigh. He looked up at Roy then, their eyes meeting.

“I was doing a lot of thinking. Talked to Barbara,” he said and Roy seemed unsurprised, so he went on with another sigh “look. I haven’t really thought about us being together. Not since we last dated, but...maybe we can give it a go. See what happens.”

Roy smiled brightly at Jason’s answer and Jason smiled slightly at how happy his friend look. He raised his hand to stop all conversation and thoughts,

“Look, I’m not saying I...y’know, love you or anything. I don’t know how I feel about...us...beyond platonic friendship, I’m just saying we can give it a go.” Roy gave a curt nod.

“I get it. I’m not gonna push you. I’m a person, not a creeper,” Roy replied, earning a laugh from Jason. Of course, there was a small part of him that ached, because when Dick found out they were dating, it would hurt him. Because Jason was still in love with him. But on the other hand, maybe it would get the man to move on and forget him. As much as Jason loved him and wanted to be with him, Dick would be better off with someone else. Anyone else...and maybe, just maybe he’d find something with Roy.


	9. Wanted

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jason and Roy go on their first date, but it doesn't go too well, because Jason has a run in with someone from his past...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait. December, January and February are, by far, the worst months for me for writing. So the updates will be coming slowly. Very slowly. x_x Work on the next chapter is already under way though, so maybe it'll be up soon. -shrug-

A scream filled the night air of Gotham as Batman got to work, doing what he did best; getting information. One of Black Mask’s men plummeted from the roof of a building, but a wire wrapped around his leg and caught him only a handful of feet off the ground. Batman reappeared on the ground before the man, glaring at him.

“Where is Black Mask hiding?” Batman growled lowly. The man panicked a bit, looking at Batman with fearful eyes.

“I swear I don’t know! I swear on my mother’s grave! Black Mask doesn’t tell anyone anything!” the man answered. Batman glared and moved toward the man, and he panicked again.

“Don’t kill me!” he begged. Batman glared at him and freed him from the wire. The man dropped to the ground with a grunt and thanked him, but before he could get far, a gunshot rang out and the man dropped dead from a bullet to the head. Batman spun on the spot and sure enough, the Red Hood was standing on top of the building behind him. He glared and grappled up to the building to confront him.

“Fancy meeting you here, Bats,” Hood said smugly. Batman glared at him and took a threatening step forward, not that Hood was intimidated at all.

“Why did you kill him? He was defenseless!” Batman growled. Hood snorted and waved his gun toting hand dismissively.

“He was also a rapist. He got what he deserved. If you ask me, I wasted a bullet,” Hood replied nonchalantly.Batman growled and grabbed him by the collar of his jacket. Hood responded by jamming the gun under his chin.

“We don’t kill,” Batman growled. Hood snorted and shoved the man away from him.

“ _You_ don’t kill. _I_ do what is necessary. If you did too, Gotham would have been cleaned up years ago,” Hood replied, turning his back on Batman. He looked over his shoulder at the man and chuckled in amusement “rapists, murders, child abusers and animal abusers are on my kill list. Got a problem with that? Then try and stop me. But just remember how that worked out last time.” Without another word, Hood disappeared into the night. He made back for his apartment, careful to make sure he wasn’t being followed, despite the fact that he was sure Bruce already knew where he was holed up.

Jason heaved a sigh as he pulled himself through the window to his and Roy’s apartment. He decided to call it an early night because frankly, he didn’t want to run into Bruce for a second time and be forced to put up with his crap. Once was enough for one night. Not only that, but he was tired. He been kind of overworking himself a bit lately. Jason pulled off his mask and stowed it away in the closet, hidden away and out of sight, then peeled his jacket off and stashed that too. He kicked his boots off, more or less kicking them into the closet, peeled off his shirt, also hiding that, and collapsing onto the bed with a long, exhausted sigh.

“Hey Jaybird,” Roy purred, climbing onto the bed on top of Jason and running his hands up the man’s bare back. Jason grunted in response.

“Not now Roy. I’m beat,” Jason replied. Roy chuckled in amusement.

“I noticed. I wasn’t looking for sex. Though sex would be really nice,” Roy answered with a cocky grin. Jason turned his head and smirked at him and Roy tsk’d.

“You’re taking a break Jaybird,” Roy said smoothly. Jason began to protest but Roy wouldn’t have it “the Red Hood can’t do jack for Gotham city if Jason Todd is dead. Besides, I could use a break myself. Gotham’s a bit more...hectic than Star City.” Roy chuckled a bit and Jason just sighed.

“Fine, mother.”

“Bitch.”

“Jerk.”

Roy snickered again, then sat on top of Jason, down on his legs, and now Jason was curious as to what the man was up to.

“What the hell are you doing?” Jason asked, looking back at the man and quirking an eyebrow. Roy snorted.

“Relax. It’s called a massage. It’ll help you loosen up and stop being a bitch,” Roy replied smugly. Jason snorted and closed his eyes. Roy began working his hands on Jason’s shoulders, kneading and rubbing the muscle and flesh slowly. Jason moaned softly, a hint that what he was doing was working.

“Holy fuck,” Jason said softly. Roy snickered in amusement and moved lower, cracking Jason’s back a bit. Another moan and Jason arched a bit.

“Jesus Christ, you should do this professionally. That feels good,” Jason said to him. Roy gave a laugh as he pressed firmly onto a particularly knotted muscle on Jason’s back, pulling a groan out of the man beneath him.

“We should go on a date. Like normal couples,” Roy suggested. He felt Jason tense underneath him, his cue to stop, and Jason squirmed beneath him, rolling over onto his back to look up at Roy.

“A date? You and me?” Jason asked, quirking an eyebrow. Roy grinned at him and nodded.

“Yep. I mean, we are dating aren’t we?” Jason frowned, remaining silent for several long moments.

“We are, yeah. But do you realize who you’re talking to? The dead guy with literally zero experience with this crap,” Jason pointed out. Roy gave a shrug, not particularly put off by this information. He didn’t say anything so Jason just watched him silently for a few moments.

“A date then, huh? Well, I guess now’s as good a time as any. You pick. I’m not really good at this lovey dovey crap,” Jason responded, earning a laugh from Roy.

“Don’t worry, it’ll be fine! And hey, maybe by the time I come up with something, I’ll have all sorts of embarrassing pet names to call you,” Roy teased, earning a glare from Jason.

“And then I’ll shoot you in your face.”

* * * * *

Jason and Roy’s first date was rather cliche, but also nice. Roy still had quite a it of money tucked away and so he and Jason went to one of the nicer restaurants in Gotham. It was an Italian restaurant, and not a knock of like most others, but legitimate Italian food.

Jason and Roy were sitting at their table, awaiting their orders, occasionally getting looks from people. Fortunately for them, they didn’t really give a shit what other people thought.

“A legit Italian restaurant. Not bad Harper,” Jason said with a smirk. Roy gave a cocky grin and leaned back in his seat with his arms crossed over his chest.

“What can I say? I’m just that good,” he replied, to which Jason rolled his eyes. The waiter came back moments later with their meals; for Roy, Lobster Ravioli with shitake mushrooms, lobster sauce and asparagus. And for Jason, spaghetti and meatballs. Roy quirked an eyebrow and Jason shrugged.

“We go to a legit Italian restaurant, and you order spaghetti and meatballs?” Roy joked. Jason grinned and gave a shrug. He looked up at the waiter and smiled.

“Questo sembra delizioso, grazie,” (This looks delicious, thank you) he said, twirling the spaghetti on his fork and eating it. The waiter looked surprised, then enthusiastic as he gave his reply in Italian as well.

“Molto buon signore, sarò sicuro di trasmettere i vostri complimenti allo chef!” (Very good sir, I'll be sure to pass on your compliments to the chef.) The waiter departed and Roy gave Jason another look.

“You speak Italian?” he asked amusedely. Jason just flashed another grin as he ate a meatball.

“Also French, German, Japanese, Mandarin Chinese, and Russian. My Russian isn’t so good though to be honest,” Jason replied with a shrug. Roy chuckled in amusement and the two of them went on with casual conversation as they ate. Unsurprisingly, Jason didn’t feel a ‘spark’ for lack of a better word, between them. But Roy seemed to be so happy, and he’d seen Roy unhappy. He didn’t like it. There was no harm in letting the man have this for a little while, right? So maybe he could fake it, just for a bit.

“Gotta say Roy, you surprised me. I never took you for a romantic,” Jason teased. Roy chuckled in amusement and gave a shrug.

“I can be quite the gentleman when I want to be.”

“So it would-” Jason’s train of thought was cut off and he fell dead silent. Roy looked up and caught the horrified look on his face, a look that soon turned to rage, Jason’s fists clenching and his jaw working. Roy followed his gaze to a middle-aged man with black hair and a scar on his chin. Before Roy could say anything, however, Jason was following the man out.

“I’ll be right back,” Jason said in a low, menacing tone.

“Jaybird-” Roy called after him.

The man lit a cigarette as he left the restaurant, and stopped in front of an alley, giving it a few puffs before tossing it away. Jason grabbed him from behind and threw him down the alley, rage etched on his face. The man yelped as he crashed into some trashcans and jumped up, glaring at his would-be attacker.

“Whose the wise guy-”

Jason slugged him in the face, knocking him back down to the ground.

“Steven Drake.” Jason hissed angrily. The man snorted and wiped the blood off of his chin. He took a good look at Jason and a flash of recognition sparked in his eyes.

“Jason Todd?! But you’re supposed to be dead!” the man whispered.

“I got better,” Jason growled, grabbing him by the collar of the shirt and yanking him forward.

“You sold drugs to my mother, you turned her into an addict! And you used me like a fucking drug mule!” Jason hissed. Drake started to laugh and shoved Jason off of him.

“Little Jason Todd, all grown up, thinking he’s worth something!’ Drake taunted. Jason’s brow furrowed and his expression darkened as the man went on “you think mommy ever loved you? No! She and Willis tries to sell you to me when you were born to pay for her drugs!”

Jason’s eyes widened and he flinched, stepping back as if he’d been struck. Steven laughed in amusement and took a threatening step forward.

“That’s right; you’re nothing. And you’ll always be nothing. Just a filthy street rat and a whore. Jeremy King was a scum bag, but he had the right idea; you were worth more as a sex toy and a drug peddler,” Drake taunted. Jason’s expression darkened once more and he lunged forward, fist pounding the man’s face.

“Fuck you!” Jason shouted, overtaken by his rage. Before he could get in the third hit, someone grabbed his arm and pulled him off.

“Jason!” Roy shouted. Jason spun around, face contorted in rage, but his expression soon darkened as Steven Drake skittered off down the street. Jason watched him go and tried to give chase, but Roy stopped him.

“Jaybird, you wanna tell me what that was all about?”

“I don’t want to talk about it,” Jason said softly, carefully pulling away from Roy. He jammed his hands into his pockets and made down the street with his head hung low. Roy caught up to him and walked beside him, not touching him, sensing that the man didn’t want that at the moment.

“Whatever he said to you was a lie-”

“No it wasn’t,” Jason interrupted. He looked at Roy, tears pricking at his eyes, but he stubbornly wouldn’t let them fall. He wiped them away, passing it off as just brushing his hair out of his eyes and said “he’s a vindictive, vile piece of filth, but I could tell he wasn’t lying. And no, I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Okay, no pressure. Sorry the date didn’t go so well,” Roy said with an apologetic smile. Jason snorted, holding back a laugh, but a grin made it’s way to his face.

“Kind of my fault. Anger issues and all. It’s just...that guy...if you knew-” Jason was cut off again, but this time by a pair of lips pressed against his own. Jason was shocked at first; shocked and surprised, but he didn’t pull away. Roy kissed Jason, soft, tender, but he didn’t try to deepen it, didn’t push for more than Jason was comfortable with. 

Jason sighed into the kiss, an arm snaking around Roy’s waist as he deepened the kiss a little, slipping his tongue into the man’s mouth. The kiss lasted for only a few more moments before the two of them pulled apart.

“Well, that makes it a bit better,” Jason said with a smirk. Roy chuckled in amusement and dared to enlace his fingers with Jason’s. In that moment, Jason knew he was fucked. How was he going to break it to Roy now? That he didn’t like him the way Roy was hoping he would? 

_Dammit._

* * * * *

Nightwing swung from roof top to roof top, on his way back to the batcave from another successful drug bust down at China Docks. He swung through the air with athletic grace, flipping and spinning, and generally just showing off and goofing around, all the while, with a goofy grin on his face.

That was until he finally came to a stop across the way from an Italian restaurant, where Roy and Jason were leaving together from. Nightwing’s heart clenched slightly, but then they kissed...and his heart shattered. The two of them looked so happy together...and he lost his chance to be with Jason. Nightwing watched in silence from the shadows, crestfallen, heart heavy. When he finally managed to move again, he vanished into the night, no flashy acrobatic moves, no goofy grin...


	10. A Tangled Web

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dick deals with the fact that Jason is seeing someone else, while Jason struggles with the shadows of his past, come back to haunt him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was kind of a bitch to write. I got about halfway through, and then -bam- writer's block. January is the worst month for me. It's like a month long Monday. x_x

Dick flopped down onto the couch of his apartment in Bludhaven. The war between gangs in Gotham was still raging, between Harley, Black Mask, and The Arkham Knights who seemed to be striking at both sides from the shadows. But Nightwing was needed in Bludhaven. Since he’d been gone, the Falcone Crime Syndicate came back, again, like cockroaches and was stirring up trouble.

Dick also wanted to be away from Jason, because when he discovered that Roy and Jason were dating, it shattered his heart. Barbara had apparently told them to go for it, and he felt a bit betrayed, but he knew Barbara; she didn’t play favorites. If she advised them to give it a go, it was because they’d talked to her about it first.

She tried to tell Dick to go after Jason, to push, to try before it was too late. But no, he was so afraid of pushing Jason away that he never tried, and now he was with someone else. And they seemed happy together. So Dick was glad to be back in Bludhaven, away from the object of his affection, away from the heartache. He still loved Jason and was happy he’d found someone he could love...but he couldn’t be near him. He couldn’t be constantly reminded that the object of his affection was unattainable. 

Dick was exhausted after his patrol that night; the Falcones weren’t the only problem Bludhaven was facing. In his absence, a new gang showed up, and one of the older ones assimilated a couple of the others, growing stronger. Bludhaven wasn’t as bad as Gotham was currently, but it was getting there.

The acrobat heaved a sigh and pushed himself up into a sitting position. He looked around his apartment and felt lonely. His time in Gotham, with his family his friends was making him realize now, how much he missed them all because he didn’t have any family here in Bludhaven, and few friends. Bludhaven was an unforgiving city.

Something caught his eye and he looked down at the coffee table; sitting there where he must’ve left it, was a photo of him and Jason. Dick picked the picture up and looked at it. He had his arm wrapped around the then teen’s shoulders, and they were both smiling, happy. It was a picture from their camping trip, just shortly before Jason...died.

Dick put the picture down, guilt welling up inside him, the memories coming crashing back down on him. After Jason died, he intentionally missed his funeral; he was devastated to learn that he was dead, that Jason, at only sixteen, had been killed. He and Bruce argued fiercely, said things they didn’t mean, hurtful things. Dick blamed Bruce for Jason’s death and Bruce said he ever regretted having a partner to begin with. They went without speaking to each other for a long time. Months even. Jason’s death had torn a rift in the entire family, one that took a long time to mend. And then came the funeral...the funeral that Dick never went to, couldn’t go to. The guilt of not having gone had eaten at him since, because he ran away instead of facing the truth, facing the facts...sort of like what he was doing now.

Dick sighed and tucked the pictured safely inside a book on the table leaning back and raking a hand through his hair. He knew that deep down, the gangs in Bludhaven were little more than a convenient excuse to leave Gotham, to avoid his problems, Jason and Roy, and yet...

His thoughts were interrupted when he phone went off. He sat up again and picked it up off of the coffee table, thumbing it open and putting it to his ear.

“Hey Bruce, what’s up?” Dick asked. 

“Dick. How’re you holding up?” Bruce asked. Dick frowned at the question.

“I’m fine, why? Is this about the trouble in Bludhaven? Look, Bruce, just focus on Gotham, I’ve got Bludhaven handled and Gotham has bigger troubles, okay?” There was a silence from the other end that stretched on for half a minute.

“You’re right. But if you need help-”

“It's fine Bruce. But thanks...for checking up. How’re you and Tim doing? Overall, not just Gotham,” Dick asked with a slight smile, leaning back on the couch. Another silence, and then-

“Is that Dick? Let me see the phone,” he heard Barbara’s voice. Dick swallowed hard because she didn’t sound happy. In fact, he was pretty sure he was about to get an earful. No one knew him better than she did, afterall...

“Richard John Grayson!” Barbara scolded. Dick flinched at the use of his, proper, full name. He hadn’t heard anyone call him that since he broke a chandelier in the manor...by jumping on it and swinging from it.

“I know what you’re doing, Dick. Bludhaven is just an excuse. You know it, and I know it,” Barbara said, her tone having softened a bit.

“Barbara, what-” Dick began, but she already seemed to know what he was going to ask.

“I needed help with a case so I dropped by the manor. Well, it’s my dad’s case. He contacted Oracle, so I’m helping,” Barbara explained. A silence built up between them, in which time Dick flopped down onto the couch. He knew Barbara was right, and he also knew it was unlike him to run away from his problems, but-

“Jason Todd, adopted son of billionaire Bruce Wayne, is alive,” Dick heard from the television. His eyes widened as he saw a picture of Jason on the television. The picture was snapped from behind him, but his face was as clear as day. Jason was careful, cautious, when he returned to Gotham. And to top it off, he had only been a teenage boy the last time he was there. And he was supposed to be dead. How could anyone have known he was back? He, nor Bruce, or Tim, not even Barbara would have told anyone, because they all knew how much Jason hated the spot light, how he valued his privacy. So... _how?_

“Babs, turn on the television,” Dick said, eyes wide as he slowly got up onto his feet. 

“You’re changing the subject, Dick,” Barbara answered, but he could hear the tv through the phone, followed by “holy crap. Bruce!”

* * * * *

“Fuck!” Jason shouted, throwing the remote control across the room, the hunk of plastic smashing across the wall. He paced back and forth, raking his hands through his hair; the last thing he wanted is for Gotham to know he was both alive, and back in Gotham City. But he had himself to blame for it, and he knew it, because he blew it when he lost control and went after Drake.

“Calm down Jaybird, I’m sure it’s not _that_ bad,” Roy tried to reassure him, coming up from behind the man and grabbing his shoulders. Jason growled and pulled away from the man, glaring at the tv, past Roy.

“It's Gotham. It _is_ that bad! That bastard Drake blabbed. All because I was too damn stupid and angry to just...” Jason ranted, hands raking through his hair again, frustration building. And of course, the Red Hood couldn’t touch him now, because that would be suspicious.

Jason retreated into the bathroom before Roy could offer anything else. He closed the door shut, locked it tight, then turned on the water and splashed his face. He leaned against the sink heavily, taking deep breaths to calm himself. But all that frustration and anger wasn’t so easy to get rid of; he could still hear Drake’s words in the back of his mind...

_“Little Jason Todd, all grown up, thinking he’s worth something!”_

_“You think mommy ever loved you?”_

_“She and Willis tries to sell you to me when you were born to pay for her drugs!”_

_“You were worth more as a sex toy than a drug peddler.”_

When next Jason looked into the mirror, it was as if he was staring back into his own past. He could hear Drake’s voice, could recall all the times he’d been forced into sex _as a child_ just to survive, just to avoid being another murder victim, to avoid being beaten within an inch of his life by the gangs. Raped, humiliated, beaten, forced to sell drugs, to steal, and it only made him angrier.

Jason let out a rage filled yell as he punched the mirror, cracking it, the pain in his fist and the bleeding going completely ignored as he punched it again and again. He could hear Roy just outside the bathroom, sounding worried, pounding on the door. And the tears he’d kept hidden were pricking at his eyes again, but he stubbornly refused to let them fall.

Finally, the door burst open, and he was vaguely aware of Roy beside him. He felt hands on his shoulders, heard Roy’s voice, but not the words. Roy sat him down on the toilet and grabbed some tweezers, plucking them out of Jason’s hand.

“Talk to me, Jay,” Roy said while picking a shard or glass out. Jason had been sitting there passively the whole time, scowl permanently darkening his features. His being outed by the media had done nothing to ease his mood lately, compounded onto his confrontation with Drake...well...

“It’s nothing,” he lied, pitifully at that, and he knew it. _Nothing_ didn’t cause you to punch a mirror into dust. Roy snorted in response as he picked out the last shard of glass and grabbed the peroxide, dousing the injured hand and wrapped it up.

“Nothing, huh? Did nothing make you pulverize the mirror?” Roy asked, quirking an eyebrow at him. Jason looked down at the man, tending to his hand and sighed, raking his free hand through his hair again. When Roy was down, Jason slipped past him, back into the living room with Roy hot on his heels.

“I don’t want to talk about it,” Jason repeated the comment from a few nights ago. Roy rolled his eyes and grabbed the man by his shoulder again, stopping him in his tracks.

“Maybe you _need_ to. I’m you’re _boyfriend_ , and we’ve been friends for years,” Roy said to him. Jason turned around slowly, expression blank. Roy shrugged and went on “we used to tell each other everything, y’know. _Everything._ ”

Jason grumbled to himself and flopped down onto the couch, burying his face in his hands. He scrubbed his face once or twice before he looked up at Roy who was sitting on the coffee table, waiting patiently.

“That guy, Steven Drake, he was the one who...used me...when I was a kid,” Jason answered, eyes averting to the floor, gaze fixed on the wooden floor. He looked up at Roy and continued “he said some shit that...that got to me.”

“He’s a scum bag, mouth-breathing, sub-human piece of filth. Whatever he said to you is bullshit,” Roy replied,crossing his arms over his chest.

“No. It isn’t. I was trained by Bruce to detect bullshit, and what he said wasn’t bullshit,” Jason said evenly. Roy frowned, uncrossing his arms and leaning forward a bit.

“Well...what did he say? What’s bugging you so much?”

“He told me...that my parents tried to sell me when I was born,” Jason said lowly, looking up at Roy with a look that resembled that of a lost puppy. Roy was a bit taken aback by the revelation. He knew how much Jason’s mother meant to him. Despite her addiction and being drugged up most of the time, from what he’d told him, she was actually a very loving mother. And so for him to hear this about her, he couldn’t imagine how badly it must be fucking with Jason’s head.

“My entire life, from the moment I was born, has been nothing but betrayal,” Jason said in an eerily calm voice, eyes still fixed on the floor. He looked up at Roy and the man was a little startled to see his eyes watering. He’d never seen Jason cry as long as he’d known him. But as ever, the man stubbornly refused to let them fall. He simply dried them away and said “you, Dick, and Barbara are the only good things that’ve ever happened to me.”

“What about-”

“Fuck Bruce!” Jason interrupted, jumping up off of the couch, his anger returning. Roy raised his hands defensively, but Jason ranted on “I fucking died and that bastard sent my killer to the one place he’s escaped from countless times before! I fucking hate him.”

“No you don’t,” Roy answered. Jason felt his anger abate slightly, because Roy was right; he didn’t hate Bruce. But he was still really fucking angry with him. Forgiveness was still a long way off.

“Well, whatever,” Jason muttered, turning around and making for the kitchen. He grabbed a beer out of the fridge and tossed it to Roy, who caught it effortlessly, then grabbed one for himself “I’ve got this disaster to deal with right now. And unfortunately there’s only one person who can help me, since I can’t well kill the media, damn parasites.” Roy snorted, unable to contained his laughter at the comment.

“Feeling better already I see,” he commented with a grin. Jason shrugged, smirk tugging at his lips as he flopped down onto the couch, stretching out over it.

“A bit, yeah. But tomorrow I have to go and talk to Bruce. This should be fan-fucking-tastic,” Jason said flatly, chugging his beer.


	11. Stubborn

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A course of action and a story is decided upon for Jason's miraculous return. Jason is eager to get the press off his ass, but there's also something else weighing heavily on is mind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delays. Would have been posted sooner, but this chapter has been giving me trouble. x_x

Jason groaned and rolled over on the couch even as Chloe started licking his face, tail wagging. He got shitfaced last night and passed out on the couch. Roy had brought a blanket out for him before going to be himself.

“Ungh, not now Chloe, go away,” He muttered, pulling the blanket over his face. Roy was setting up the coffee pot and glanced over his shoulder, snickering at the sight before him. Chloe whined, tail wagging faster as she nosed at the blanket, getting her head in underneath it and licking Jason’s face again. Jason huffed both in annoyance and amusement as he pushed himself up, only to be pushed back down on the other end of the couch as Chloe pounced him and started licking his face.

“Okay, okay, I’m up, I’m up!” He called with a laugh, pushing the dog off of him. Chloe barked once before retreating into the kitchen and Jason sat up, wiping the slobber off of his face on the sleeve of his hoodie. Chloe’s leg had finally healed and now she was more rambunctious than ever! It was cute, but also annoying. This morning, it was a bit of both.

“Morning Jaybird,” Roy called from the kitchen, pouring himself a cup of coffee. Jason grunted in response and pushed himself up off of the couch. He shuffled into the kitchen to find Roy’s hangover cure sitting in a cup on the table waiting for him, so he sat down and drank it down.

“How do you-”

“I know you,” Roy interrupted with a smug grin, sucking down the last of his coffee. Jason snorted, tossing the empty glass to Roy, who effortlessly caught it and dumped it in the sink. Roy slipped across the kitchen and stood behind Jason, massaging his shoulders.

“Sure you’re ready for-”

“No. But I don’t have a choice,” Jason interrupted. He glanced up at Roy who leaned down a place a kiss on his lips. Jason flinched a bit and Roy caught it.

“Something wrong?” Roy asked, slipping into the chair beside him, Jason sighed and gave a shrug.

“Not used to that kind of...affection. I mean, I’ve kissed people before but it...never meant anything. It’s just weird I guess,” Jason answered, a slight blush on his face. As a matter of fact, that was more or less a half truth; he’d been kissed before, but it was always just a means to an end. It was weird for him to be kissed and to have it mean something. But there was also his other problem; he didn’t have any feelings for Roy.

Roy simply nodded, patting Jason’s shoulder, a simple gesture that said it was okay and he didn’t need to explain. The two men sat in silence for a time, most of which was spent brooding. Finally, Jason pulled himself up out of the chair and retreating to the bedroom to dress.

“So, how do you wanna do this?” Roy asked from his place at the table.

“No idea. I’ll just wing it,” Jason replied, coming out of the bedroom with a black t-shirt clung over his shoulder. He ruffled his hair a bit, glancing over at Roy who was not-so-subtly checking him out. Jason flashed a grin as he poured a cup of coffee and leaned back in such a way as to give his boyfriend a perfect few of his torso. 

“Like what you see?” he asked with a cocky smirk. Roy grinned like the Cheshire Cat and slid out of his chair, moving across the kitchen toward Jason. He pressed his hips against Jason’s grinding a bit, earning a slight moan from the other man.

“You are so very, very attractive, Jason Todd,” Roy said smoothly, nipping at the man’s lips. Jason smirked, grinding back, making Roy groan in response. The red head let his hands wander over Jason’s bare sides, index finger tracing a scar on his hip, just above his pantline.

“Unfortunately, we’ve got shit to do. So I’ll have to ravish you later,” Roy answered. Jason snorted.

“Tease.” Roy chuckled in amusement and stuck his tongue out at the man, and Jason responded by flipping him off. Roy retreated into the bedroom to dress while Json pulled on his shirt and grabbed the keys to his motorcycle.

“Uh uh. We’ll take my car,” Roy called after him, exiting the room and pulling on a black and red hoodie. He grabbed his keys out of his pocket and jingled them a bit before heading for the door.

“Huh? Why?”

“You want to get to the manor without attracting the press, right?”

“Good point.” Jason turned to Chloe and smiled, patting his knees “c’mon girl, wanna go for a ride in the car?” Chloe’s tail started wagging as she raced toward the door.

“I’m not leaving her here alone,” Jason answered before Roy could ask. Roy chuckled in amusement and made his way out.

“You gonna grab the leash?”

“Don’t need it,” Jason answered as they headed down the stairs. He pointed toward the car and Chloe obediently approached it, sitting beside it waiting patiently.

“Told you so,” Jason said with a smirk, opening up the car door. Chloe hopped inside and Jason slid into the passenger’s seat, Roy moving around the car to the driver’s seat, reaching back and patting Chloe’s head.

“Try not to piss in the car, girl,” Roy said. Chloe cocked her head and whimpered at him as he started up the car.

“Sure you’re ready to go back?” Roy asked. Jason snorted, looking out the window as they pulled away from the building.

“No. But I don’t have a lot of options,” Jason said flatly. He glanced over at Roy who flashed him a reassuring smile. Jason smiled back, but also kicked himself mentally.

_You gotta break it to him soon, Jason. You can’t keep playing with his emotions like this._

Roy seemed different now that they were dating; his usual cocksure attitude was still there, but he was also...sweet, endearing, sensitive...There was more to Roy Harper than he let on to other people. Which made him feel like more of an ass for not breaking the news to him sooner.

Jason stared out the window, occasionally glancing back at Chloe who seemed excited about being in a car, tail wagging as she looked out the window. The drive to the manor was mostly quiet, with him being deep in thought and Roy seemingly unwilling to disturb him. When the manor came into view, Jason could feel his anger roiling again. He kept in check, not that it was easy. As much as he wanted to clock Bruce in the face maybe six or seven times, that wouldn’t be the best way to ask for the man’s help.

They pulled up to the manor and slid out of the car, Jason whistling for Chloe who was hot on his heels. They made for the door and Jason was soon keenly aware when Roy enlaced their fingers together. It was meant to be reassuring, calming, but it actually made him feel guilty. The two of them stopped before the door, and Jason took a deep breath, but before he could knock or ring the bell, the door flew open. Alfred stood before them, looking the picture of health, save for his arm being in a sling.

“Ah, Master Jas-” the man began, but was interrupted when Jason hugged him. Alfred managed a small smile and returned the gesture with his good arm, patting his back.

“Glad to see you’re doing better, Alf,” Jason said to him, flashing him a genuine smile. Alfred chuckled in amusement and waved his hand dismissively.

“Thank you. I’m a touch more difficult to kill than I appear,” Alfred replied. He gestured for the two men to come in, and Chloe followed behind them. Jason turned around, walking backwards for a short way.

“Hope you don’t mind. Her name is Chloe. Didn’t wanna leave her home alone,” Jason explained. Alfred gave a simple nod and patted the dog’s head. She sat obediently, tail wagging.

“Good girl. Now where’s-”

“Master Bruce is in his study. He is expecting you.”

“Of course he is.”

Sure enough, Roy and Jason found Bruce working at a computer in his study.

“Roy. Jason,” he said smoothly without looking up from his computer.

“Yeah, let’s cut the chit chat. Look, I don’t like it, and I like even less to admit it, but I need your help,” Jason said flatly. Bruce stopped his work and looked up at him knowingly.

“I know. I’ve already taken the liberty of working up a story for the media. I expected you to drop by if you’d like to hear it, maybe add to it,” Bruce suggested, gesturing toward the chair across from him.

“Are there any conditions for your help?” Jason asked sourly, dropping into the chair. Bruce sighed and was silent for a few moments, considering his next words carefully.

“No.”

“No?”

“Family doesn’t have conditions, Jason.”

“Okay, first off, we’re not family,” Jason snapped. Yeah, still angry “and second, I wouldn’t be here if I had a damn choice. Now out with it. What do you want?” Roy shifted uncomfortably behind them from his place across the room. He was here to Jason, but he didn’t really want to get into the middle of....whatever this was, exactly.

Bruce heaved a frustrated sigh, much to Jason’s satisfaction.

“A second chance,” he murmured, barely audible, as he stared down at his desk. Jason heard it and it irked him a little. A second chance? He wanted a second chance? He already had one and he blew it! But Jason chose not to comment on it. Bruce looked up again, his expression having softened a bit.

“Here’s what I was thinking-” Bruce began. They talked for a while, settling on kidnapping and traumatic amnesia. Over the course of the conversation, Jason and Roy’s relationship had come up, which seemed to surprise Bruce a bit. That was something Jason was definitely going to make a mental note of; Bruce being surprised by something? That was definitely a rarity.

With that new piece of information, Roy was now involved in the narrative: Roy Harper, Jason’s old childhood friend, found him wandering around Star City and had been taking care of him since. He brought him back to Gotham, but kept him away from the manor, away from Bruce, the press, everything, so as not to overwhelm him.

The whole story annoyed the shit out of Jason; it made him sound weak, helpless, and he hated it, loathed it. He was _not_ weak _or_ helpless. Not since...not since he was a kid. He would _never_ be that weak and helpless again. _Never_. But he agreed to go with it, only because there was no other option.

“Gotham is going to expect some kind of celebration. It’s the burden of being a Wayne, so tonight, I’d like to get this all over with, as much for your sake as mine,” Bruce said smoothly. Jason grumbled in response because he knew what that meant; the shark pit. That also meant that Dick would probably be there. _Fuck_. And speak of the devil...

“Hey Bruce, I came as soon as-” Dick trailed off when he caught sight of Roy and Jason. Beside each other. Together. His heart ached all over again, but he was good at hiding his emotions, thanks to his training. Even still, the mere sight of Jason had his heart beating faster. To think that he was still so in love with Jason...

“Right. Well. We’ll be on our way then. You can explain it all to Dickie-bird,” Jason said evenly, tugging Roy up with him as they slipped out of the study. Roy went on a ahead and Jason just flashed him a look. He stopped beside Dick and patted his shoulder.

“Get ready for tonight bud. Looks like we’re diving head first into a fire pit,” Jason said with a grin. Dick chuckled in amusement, eyes following Jason as he left. Eyes that wandered up and down the length of the man. That beautiful, sexy man. He-

“Dick,” Bruce called, snapping him out of his thoughts.

* * * * *

The time had come to get this bullshit over with. Jason and Roy had both been lent tuxedos for the evening, thanks to Alfred. It wasn’t hard to avoid the press for the rest of the day, since they just hid out at their apartment. So when the hour finally came, they made their way to the manor. The first thing they were forced to deal with, was the press. Once that, and the formalities were out of the way, the party go underway.

Jason and Roy both felt out of place, what with all the fancy food, the classy music and of course Gotham’s Elite. The two of them settled for a corner of the room all by themselves. And as for Jason, it was about time for him to do something he should have a while ago.

Jason and Roy were more or less sitting at a table in their little corner of the room when Jason finally decided that it was now or never.

“Roy, there’s something I need to tell you,” Jason said, heaving a sigh. Roy leaned back in his seat and gave a nod for the man to go on. Jason raked a hand through his hair again, considering his words carefully.

“I...don’t know how to tell you this, but I, uh-”

“Don’t have any romantic feelings for me?” Roy asked with a somewhat sad smile. Jason was surprised to hear that, but also felt like crap once he saw the sad look on his friend’s face.

“Y-yeah...how did-”

“I’ve...known for a while,” Roy interrupted, heaving a sigh and leaning forward in his chair. He rubbed the back of his neck nervously, then patted Jason’s knee.

“Thanks for telling me though.”

“But-”

“I guess...I was ignoring it. I was happy and I kinda wanted to hold on for it a bit. I guess I kinda hoped, with time maybe you’d...y’know,” Roy said smoothly, giving a shrug of his shoulders. Jason felt a metaphorical kick to his nuts, because damn did he feel like shit. Roy looked a bit like a lost puppy dog in that moment.

“Shit, Roy, I’m sorry for leading you on like that-”

“It’s cool. I’m kinda guilty too, for going along with it. Actually, I wanted to say thanks. For indulging me, y’know?”

“I...you were just so happy, and I-”

“Really dude, it’s no big deal. Thanks.” Jason managed a smile and a nod. The two men sat in silence, unable to look at each other. Then, finally, Roy patted Jason;s shoulder.

“So, like...this isn’t going to make things awkward between us, is it?” Roy asked. Jason snorted and waved his hand dismissively.

“For a little bit. But then we’ll eventually just go back to being annoying pricks to each other, like usual, and all will be right in the world.” Roy let out a laugh at the comment and leaned back in his chair.

“Sounds good to me,” Roy replied with a cocky grin. Jason chuckled in amusement, and rose from his chair, Roy following suit.

“But uh...sex might be off the table. That would be too awkward.”

“Ouch. No sex? How ever shall I live!” Roy replied, feigning injury as he draped his arm over his eyes.

“Bitch.”

“Jerk.”

* * * * *

Dick sighed, raking his hand through his hair as he stood, leaning against the wall, drink in hand...watching Jason who looked...well, amazing, in a suit. He could read lips, and felt guilty because Jason and Roy had broken up, and he...was happy about that. He felt terrible about feeling that way, and yet, despite the fact that Jason and Roy were no longer together, he didn’t have it in him to talk to Jason.

Even as the two of them passed by him, leaving the party, he couldn’t work up the courage to talk to Jason. He chugged his drink and placed the empty glass on a tray as a waiter passed by, getting ready to leave himself. That was, until Barbara rolled up in front of him. Dick flinched a bit, then blushed when he saw her; she was beautiful, dressed in a beautiful black dress and looking as classy as Gotham’s Elite.

“Damn Barbara, you make that wheel chair look good,” Dick joked. Barbara chuckled in amusement and turned her head, watching as Jason and Roy left.

“So, why didn’t you talk to Jason?” she asked, quirking an eyebrow. Dick blushed again, rubbing the back of his neck nervously.

“I...Babs, I just...he...”

“Dick, relationships require communication. That includes starting them. If you don’t talk to him, you’ll never get anywhere,” Barbara said evenly. Dick gave a nod, then shook his head.

“Barbara, Jason doesn’t want me. He made it clear that night-”

“No. Dick, I don’t want to hear it. He loves you, I know he does. So get your head out of your ass and talk to him!” Barbara scolded, equal parts lecturing and encouraging. Dick sighed again, averting his eyes, staring at the floor. He looked up at her one final time.

“I’m sorry Babs. I can’t,” he replied, slipping past her and leaving the party. Barbara sighed and turned in her chair, watching him go. She hated seeing Dick torture himself like this, and hated seeing Jason be so hard on himself.

Perhaps it was about time she...interjected herself into this mess of theirs. For their own good.


	12. Anniversary

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The anniversary of Jason's death has come, and this year is turning out to be the hardest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I went through my entire list of love songs (yes, I'm a mushy, hopeless romantic inside) and found only one that seemed to fit. So. Like. Yeah. Also, I like angst. And Drama. And Fluffy stuff. Also, I apparently enjoy tormenting characters...
> 
> I don't know what this is. Leave me alone. >_>;

Jason hadn’t been the same since he ran into Steven Drake. Seeing him had brought back so many painful memories, things he’d rather forget, things he would have rather stayed buried. Years of pain, physical and psychological, came flooding back, making Jason Todd angrier. Punching that mirror was a breaking point, but it only got worse. Anger was the only way he knew how to deal with things, because that’s how he’d been dealing with everything, all his life.

Roy had been there for him, tried to help him, but every time he looked in the mirror, he saw himself as a kid, saw the men who abused him, saw everything in himself he had hated. Seeing Steven Drake, out of prison, a free man, was like pouring salt in a knife wound. He had been the worst of them all, and every time he heard the man’s name, all he could think about was revenge.

To make matters worse, today was the day Jason dreaded most every year; the anniversary of his death. On this day, every year, his life was always a living hell. Even now, with the sound of the radio in his ears surrounded by Gotham traffic, he could hear the Joker laughing in his head. Before, he could handle it. He’d be angry and anxious all day, and then move on, but with the pain of his past haunting him, today was the worst.

Jason’s jaw worked as he sped up just a little faster, hands tightening on the steering wheel. He had wanted to take his motorcycle, but Roy refused to let him have the keys. Jason had gotten so pissed at him, but deep down, he was glad for it, because he probably would have done something stupid. He felt lucky to have a friend like Roy, who was so damn patient even when he was at his worst.

Jason sighed deeply, trying to calm himself down, but failing miserably. He could hear the Joker and Drake both in his head, laughing at him, taunting him. He cranked up the radio a bit, hoping that would help drown out his thoughts...

“And I just received a request from...well, well, well, Dick Grayson!” came the the DJ’s voice, to which Jason glanced down at the radio, quirking an eyebrow “he wants a special someone to know that they have people who care and love him and that they’re not alone. Must be one special person to catch the eye of the Prince of Gotham, eh?” The DJ chuckled a bit at his own comment then finished “and without further ado, I give you _Hero_ , by Enrique Iglesias.”

Jason stared at the radio in disbelief as the guitar started to play. No, wait, he could definitely believe it. This was just the sort of cheesy, sentimental kind of thing Dick would do. He huffed in annoyance as he turned the corner, the song playing the soft voice filling the car and strangely, easing Jason’s mood.

Dick. That was something else that had been on Jason’s mind recently, and this song wasn’t helping. He lied to him, told him he didn’t love him. That was the biggest sack of shit he’d probably ever uttered in his life, because he was head over heels for Dick. He glanced down at the radio again; it was annoying that Dick would do something this...mushy. But also...endearing, and sweet. Jason would never admit it, but he deep down, past all his rage and anger, was someone who just wanted to feel _loved_ and _wanted_ just _once_ , just to know what that felt like.

So now the question was, he had someone like that, that wanted to be with him and he kept pushing them away. Why? It would seem ludicrous to anyone else, but to Jason, his reasons were perfect; he was damaged, broken, and he couldn’t be what Dick wanted. Dick deserved so much better than him, even if he didn’t know it. Jason had already royally fucked up his own life, so he didn’t want to fuck up Dick’s too.

Jason stopped the car in front of the apartment building, just as the song started to come to s close. He let it finish before he turned it off, letting out a sigh as he sat in silence for several long moments. He pulled himself out of the car and trudged up the stairs to his and Roy’s apartment and was immediately greeted by Chloe. Normally, her playful demeanor would cheer him up, but not today. 

Roy was passed out on the couch so Jason retreated to the bedroom. He stripped off his jacket and his shirt, tossing them onto the floor. He turned, eyes catching on the full body mirror and the light scars here and there on his back, his sides, a couple on his chest. But when he drew closer, his mind began to turn on him again.

_You like it, don’t you?_

_Daddy bats isn’t coming! Bwuahahaa! Did you really think he ever cared?_

_You were worth more as a sex toy than a drug peddler._

_This is going to hurt you a lot more than it’s going to hurt me!_

Jason clenched his fists, hearing Drake’s voice in his mind, reminding him about all the abuse he endured, the humiliation. He’d been ‘sold’ to so many men, perverts, who didn’t care what he wanted, who ignored his tears, his pleas to stop. And somewhere along the line, he just went numb to it, building all that pain inside, which turned into anger and rage.

Then the Joker’s voice was in his head again, the memories of his murder fresh in his mind once more. All the taunts, and the jokes, the laughing. He paced back and forth through the room, trying to get a grip on himself, trying to change his course of thinking, to think of something _good_. Even his thoughts of his mother had been corrupted, and some of the few good memories in his life, destroyed by Drake. Was it true? Had she really tried to sell him?! And then came the arguments, little Jason, hiding under a table while his parents had shouting matches, objects flying across the room, crashing against walls. His good memories were vastly outnumbered by terrible ones.

On this day, every year, he’d just get through it and move on. But not today. Jason, frustrated, let out a pained yell as he spun on the spot, swiping everything off the dressed, all of it crashing the floor or against the wall, as he sunk to his knees and leaned back against the bed, hands clutching at his hair. He pulled out his phone, staring at Dick’s name before he dialed the number, holding the phone up to his ear. But after just one ring, he panicked and hung up. He growled, frustrated, fingers combing through his hair as the dam finally broke...and he just cried. He cried, damn near sobbed, the pain so overwhelming as too many terrible memories flooded his mind. 

And there was Roy again, kneeling beside him, hugging him, whispering calming words to him, and Chloe at his other side, whimpering and licking his hands and face, but nothing worked. All he felt was pain.

* * * * *

Dick knew this date by heart. How could he forget? Five years ago today, the Joker took Jason’s life, torturing and then killing him. Dick knew something about these kinds of ‘anniversaries’ and they were always painful. Even to this day, on the anniversary of his parents’ death, he could still feel the pain of their loss. But in Jason’s case, he was the victim, so today had to be a _terrible_ day for him.

He didn’t know what to do, but he felt like he needed to do... _something_. He knew where Jason lived because he was a detective, but he never went to visit, because he didn’t want to invade Jason’s privacy. So as he walked down the streets of Gotham, hands buried in his pockets, he wracked his mind thinking of ways he could cheer Jason up, just to make this day a little bearable for him.

His phone rang then and he was quick to answer, but no sooner had he flipped it open, that the call was ended. He frowned and looked to see who it was; Jason. With that one simple name, sitting on his screen, he decided to go and see him. So he buried his phone in his pocket and turned the corner, making for Jason’s apartment building, walking like a man on a mission.

On the way there, he stopped by the local bookstore and picked up a copy of _Artemis Fowl: The Arctic Incident_ , the second book in the series. A small gift that he hoped might make the man feel better. It was adorable, really; Jason honestly believed that no one knew he was a bit of a bookworm at heart, but Dick knew. He knew Jason loved to read, even when he had trouble, when Dick would read to him, he could see it in the teen’s eyes; he loved books.

Dick looked up at the building as he stopped in front of it, recognizing Roy’s car and Jason’s motorcycle. He took a deep breath and headed inside, climbing up the stairs to Jason and Roy’s apartment. He stopped in front of the door, frozen like a deer in the headlights for several long moments before he finally worked up the courage to knock. He heard barking on the other side and the sound of footsteps, and when the door finally swung open, there stood a surprised Roy, and Chloe beside him, looking up at him, tail wagging. Dick smiled down at the dog and patted her head.

“What are you doing here, Dick?” Roy asked in an annoyed tone. Dick flinched, unsure what brought this on. Did he do something to piss the other man off? If he did, he couldn’t think of what. 

Dick looked down at the book in his hands, then back up at Roy, a light blush spreading over his cheeks.

“I, uh...came to see Jason. I wanted to see if...he was alright,” Dick answered. Roy quirked an eyebrow at him, then glanced back over his shoulder, then back to Dick.

“Look, Jason’s not...doing so well today. Just...I’ll tell him you dropped by,” Roy replied. He moved to close the door but Dick stopped him.

“Wait. I uh...just give him this, okay? And tell him-” Dick paused for a few moments, handing the book to Roy “tell him...I’m free. So if he wants to talk, he can call me. Anytime. Okay?” Dick didn’t stick around long enough for Roy to answer. The man watched him go, then looked down at the book before the closed the door, heading back to the bedroom where Jason was still sitting on the flood, head buried in his arms, Chloe cuddled up at his side.

“Jaybird, you okay?” Roy asked, sitting down beside him and rubbing his arm soothingly. Jason raised his head to look at the man, his eyes red and swollen from crying, with a look that said ‘do I look okay?!’

“Right. That was Dick, he told me to give this to you-” Roy said smoothly, handing the book to Jason. Jason sighed and took to book, examining the cover. He snorted and handed it back to Roy who continued “and he said...if you ever wanna talk, call him anytime.” Another snort.

“Just like Dickie-bird. Guess the love song dedication wasn’t enough,” Jason murmured. Roy snorted with held back laughter.

“He gave you a love song dedication?” Jason dried his eyes and looked over at the man, giving a curt nod.

“Yeah. It was on the radio,” he replied. Roy snorted again, then laughed.

“What a dork.” Jason snorted and then started to laugh, which got Roy laughing. Roy wrapped his arms around the man’s shoulders and the two of them just sat on the floor, laughing.

And for the first time that day, Jason’s mind was on happier thoughts; how much of a sappy, sentimental dork Dick was. And how much he was in love with said sappy, sentimental dork.


	13. The Sting of Betrayal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Barbara tries to push Dick and Jason together, but things don't go quite as planned. Meanwhile, Jason decides he's ready to try and move on, but a wrench gets thrown into his plans.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delays. Writer's block. Mostly. That and a new puppy, so I've also been a bit distracted. x3 Enough time has been spent away from the action, so I figured it was time to jump right back in. >:3

Dick sighed contentedly as he stepped out of the shower, drying himself off before pulling on a pair of jeans. He’d heard a knock at his door, so he shuffled through his Bludhaven apartment and pulled the door open. Barbara smiled up at him and wheeled inside the apartment, carrying a Fuchsia flower.

“Hey, came by to give you this,” Barbara said with a smile, fishing through her pocket for a phone and handing it to Dick.

“Hey, my phone! That thing has been missing for the last couple days, thanks!” Dick said smoothly, turning it on. Barbara flashed a smile, waving her hand dismissively.

“You left it at my place the last time you visited. Thought I’d bring it back. Also, there’s this. I found it sitting in front of your door,” Barbara said smoothly, handing Dick the fuchsia. Dick gingerly took the flower and noticed a tag on it.

_From: Jaybird_

_To: Dickie-bird_

_Thanks for the song._

A warm smile spread across Dick’s face; it was a real flower too, not a plastic one, and it made him happy to know hat Jason remembered that the fuchsia was his mother’s favorite flower.

“Wow...I uh...don’t know what to say,” Dick said, a gentle blush blossoming across his face. But then something clicked. He read the tag again.

“Wait. Thanks for the song? What song?” Dick asked, confused. Barbara was leaving when he said it allowed. She waved her hand dismissively.

“Who knows. At any rate, I need to-”

“Barbara Gordon, do you know something about this?” Dick asked in a stern tone. Barbara looked over her shoulder, and shrugged.

“No, why? Should I?” she asked. Dick snorted and placed the flower in a glass of water, turning back to Barbara and crossing his arms over his chest.

“You’re lying. The corner of your lip twitches when you lie,” Dick said flatly. Barbara huffed in annoyance and made her way back into the apartment, closing the door behind her.

“Okay, fine. I may have picked your pocket for your phone,” she admitted. Dick frowned at the confession.

“And what exactly did you need it for?”

“To text in as you and request a love song for Jason?” she replied with a shy smile. Dick’s face lit up bright red. He scrubbed his face with his hands and paced across his apartment.

“Babs, why would you...I mean, you...Jason-” Dick was cut off when Barbara wheeled up to him and placed a hand on his arm.

“You two are hopeless. You needed a little push to get things going!”

“Barbara-”

“Dick, you and Jason are the biggest, emotionally constipated losers in either Gotham or Bludhaven. If I hadn’t intervened, you two idiots would be doing this lame ass song and dance until the sky fell. I did you both a favor,” Barbara replied. Dick glared at her before moving back across the apartment and pointing to the flower.

“This isn’t from Jason, is it?” he asked. Barbara shrugged.

“Actually, I think it is. I was planning to have a new pair of escrima sticks delivered to you. That’s much more believable,” she said with a smirk, shrugging her shoulders. Dick huffed in annoyance as a silence filled the room. He fidgeted a bit in place, while Barbara stared at him with that cocky smirk.

“What?” Dick asked. 

“Oh, just thinking. Or examining, actually. You’re thinking about how to ‘salvage’ this, but there’s nothing to salvage.”

“Babs-”

“Dick, you can either man up and talk to Jason, or I can keep playing Operation Hopeless, and keep meddling and manipulating until you do,” she said sweetly, wheeling up to him. Dick stared down at her with a frown as she patted his arm.

“Treat it like a band-aid. Do it quickly and get it over with.”

“It won’t be that easy, Babs,” Dick replied sourly. Barbara nodded.

“I know. But if you confess to him, get it all out, then the hardest part will be out of the way. Think about it,” she said, before leaving the apartment. Dick sighed, hand raking through damp hair, thoughts wander, as she left. There was no denying that she was right; he was kind of hopeless. Both he and Jason. They both knew how the other felt, but neither one of them had the courage to make a move.

Dick heaved a sighed and pulled on a shirt, resolved to talk heed Barbara’s advice and talk to Jason. Moments after pulling his shirt on, his phone rang; it was Bruce. Another sigh and he flipped it open and answered it.

“Hello?”

“Dick? It’s Jason.”

* * * * *

Jason growled a bit as Roy peeled the bandages off his back, revealing the freshly healed and inked skin underneath. Jason had saved up some cash to get a tattoo that stretched across the upper part of his back; it was a bird with its wings out stretched, from shoulder to shoulder, with broken chains falling away from it, and below it, was Romani: rupe lanţurile care se leagă de tine (break the chains that bind you)

“Wow, looks amazing Jaybird,” Roy said, wide-eyed. Jason glanced over his shoulder and into the mirror at the new tattoo. Roy was right, it was amazing. The whole thing was symbolic for him. He was ready to try and...move on, to be good again to break the chains of his past and finally move on. And the romani...well, that was self-explanatory. But there was one thing he needed to do first...

“I haven’t been good for a long time,” Jason said lowly, grabbing his shirt and pulling it on. He retreated from the bathroom, Roy following after him and he sat on the couch in the living room, Roy beside him, as he continued “not since I was Robin. When Bruce adopted me...when I wasn’t making a mess of my life.”

He stared down at his hands and sighed, scrubbing his face, trying to find the words to explain himself.

“Then I died and when I came back...well, you know,” he said with a shrug, leaning back against the couch.

“Yeah. I do. So why the tattoo?” Roy asked. Jason snorted.

“I’ve always wanted one. But Bruce would never let me get one,” Jason replied, to which Roy laughed.

“So, a final ‘fuck you’ before you move on then?” Jason grinned at Roy, but didn’t answer. He didn’t need to, because that cocky grin said it all. Jason sat up again and looked down at his hands, then over at Roy.

“I plan to keep being the Red Hood, but...maybe I can do that without killing. Mostly. Pedophiles, animal abusers, they’re still getting fuckin’ shot,” Jason explained, earning a bark of laughter from Roy “but the rest...I just need one more.”

“One more...?” Roy asked. Jason’s eyes narrowed as he looked over at Roy.

“Steven Drake. The man who made a huge part of my childhood a living hell. I can’t forgive him, but he can’t be allowed to live, allowed to exploit other children,” Jason said darkly, pushing himself up off of the couch. He paced the room a bit, glancing back over at Roy.

“He dies. I’m ending it. My suffering and everyone else’s. And then...maybe I can...”

He felt Roy’s hand on his shoulder and looked up at him.

“If this will help you, then you’ve got my bow.”

“Thanks Roy.”

“We’re not gonna like, hug or something now, right?”Roy asked with a smirk. Jason snorted.

“God no. But you’d like it, wouldn’t you?”

“Maybe a little.”

* * * * *

The Red Hood grabbed Steven Drake by the throat, Arsenal pursuing his...associates, and dangled him over the edge of the building. Drake shrieked in fear as he looked over the edge of the building below. The rain was pouring down hard and Hood’s grip was... _slipping._

“Please, I don’t wanna die!” Drake called. Hood snorted and threw him across the roof. Drake attempted to make an escape, but Hood pulled out a gun and shot the ground in front of him.

“You’re a coward, Drake,” Hood seethed, approaching him slowly as the man begged for his life.

“All the woman you’ve hurt, the children you’ve abused, and then when your own life in in danger, you’re a whimpering coward,” Hood snarled. Drake attempted to make an escape, but Hood lurched forward and grabbed him by the back of the shirt, throwing him back across the building.

“I should kill you, here and now. See I know that putting you in Blackgate won’t do any good-’ Hood began, drawing a gun and pointing it at the man. He planted his foot on the man’s chest and leaned down.

“I should make you suffer, like all those children suffered,” he said in a low, menacing tone. He pulled back and chuckled in amusement “but I’m better than you. So I-” A batarang knocked the gun out of his hand and Hood’s head snapped in the direction from where it came; Batman.

“You-” Hood began, interrupted when Drake took advantage of his distracting and put him off balance, scrambling away.

“No you don’t!” Hood hissed, pulling out another gun, but Batman grabbed his arm and stopped him.

“No Hood, we need him alive! He works for Black Mask!”

“I don’t care, I need this!” Hood replied, elbowing Batman in the stomach. He chased after Drake, but the man jacked a car and peeled off down the street. Hood bellowed in range and spun on the spot, pointing the gun at Batman.

“You son of a bitch! You let him get away!” Hood shouted. Batman huffed, standing up straight and shaking his head.

“I couldn’t let you kill him, Hood. We needed him alive. Killing him won’t-”

“Shut up!” Hood shouted, holstering the gun and turning his back on Batman. He pulled off his helmet and tossed it aside. Batman approached him, slowly, and place a hand on his shoulder.

“Jason...I know what he did to you, but killing him...won’t bring you peace,” he said softly. Jason spun around and punched him in the face, sending Batman toppling over, backwards.

“You son of a bitch!” Jason shouted angrily, approaching Batman and landing another punch.

“He abused me! He used me as a drug runner, sold me as a sex toy! You have no idea!” Jason shouted again, throwing another punch, but Batman didn’t fight back. After the third punch, Jason stopped, breathing heavy, anger radiating off of him.

“You asked me for a chance to make it right-” Jason said softly, standing at full height “-well you blew it. I was ready to make amends, to forgive. Drake was going to be the last of it.” Jason scrubbed his face with his hands, then clenched his fists and glared at Batman “and you let him get away! He can disappear if he really wants to, it could take me weeks to find him again!”

“Jason-”

“No! No more excuses!” Jason shouted, rushing toward Batman. The two of them traded blows, Jason swinging a fist, Bruce blocking, retaliating with a punch of his own. He hit Jason in the gut, but he recovered quickly, then drew a dagger, swinging it at Batman. Batman ducked back once, twice, three times before he wrenched the dagger out of Jason’s hand. Jason reached for the cowl, grabbed a hold of it, and Batman grabbed him by his arm.

“Take off that mask! I want to look into the man’s eyes, not the bat’s, while I kick your ass!” Jason shouted angrily. He landed another punch, wrenching his arm free and tearing the cowl off. Bruce’s expression was unreadable, and Jason stood still, watching, cowl in hand.

“I was ready to forgive you! To stand by your side again, but you...you just _couldn’t_ let me have this, _couldn’t_ let me close this chapter of my life-”

“Killing Drake wouldn’t have brought you closure, Jason. Adding more bodies to the pile isn’t the answer for your pain!” Bruce shouted back, throwing his arm out as he took a step toward Jason. Jason’s jaw worked as he turned his back, throwing the cowl back to Bruce and grabbing up his helmet. He pulled it on, then looked over his shoulder at Bruce.

“I’m going to hunt him down, and then kill him. And then I’m going to find Black Mask, and end him once and for all” Hood said evenly. He moved toward the edge of the building, stepping up on the ledge and looking down at the street below.

“Get in my way again, and I’ll put you down,” he threatened before diving off the edge of the building. Batman pulled on his cowl and followed, watching as the Red Hood tore down the street on his motorcycle. Batman watched him disappear into the distance, into the rain, for a little while longer before he departed, jumping from the roof and down to the batmobile, racing off, back to the cave.  
No sooner had Bruce returned to the cave, that Alfred was there to greet him with more bad news.

“Sir, I’ve been keeping tabs on the GCPD. You might want to see this,” Alfred said evenly. Bruce pulled off the cowl and followed him to the computer. The GCPD had been keeping tabs on all the major gangs in Gotham, and according to the latest information, someone was rallying the Arkham Knights and making strategic power plays in The Bowery.

“Jason...” Bruce said, eyes narrowing. He hadn’t seen Jason that angry in a long time; if he was re-organizing the Arkham Knights, he was going to need help. So he called Dick.

“Dick? It’s Jason.”


	14. The Knights of Gotham

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nightwing returns to Gotham and meets with Arsenal; Jason's gone missing but they soon find out why.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay. Here's Chapter 14! Enjoy! Also, it's starting to feel like there may be a third part here...dammit, stop it, brain. >_>

Nightwing was back in Gotham once again, called by Bruce and by reports of the return of the Arkham Knights and a spike in gang violence. Nightwing was perched on top of a building just outside the Bowery; everything looked peaceful (as peaceful as The Bowery could be), but were one to look closer, they could find the Arkham Knights patrolling the area.

But Nightwing was here at the Bowery for a more specific reason.  
“Nightwing. I’m glad you’re here,” came Arsenal’s voice from behind him. Nightwing turned in time to see the red-and-black clad vigilante landing on the roof behind him.

“Arsenal. I came as soon as you called. What’s up?” Nightwing asked casually. Arsenal huffed and crossed his arms over his chest. He was silent for a few moments, pulling a few faces, before he peeled off his mask. He never did that on patrol, which meant two things; it was personal, and it was serious.

“Jason hasn’t been home in days. He hasn’t contacted me, and I can’t get a a hold of him, but I know he’s pissed. I know he’s here in The Bowery somewhere though,” Roy said to him. Nightwing peeled off his own mask, and gave a nod.

“You’re his best friend. If he hasn’t been talking to you...” Dick murmured, scratching his chin. He pressed his mask back on and Roy did the same, the red head moving to stand beside him, both of them looking down at the city below. The Red Hood hadn’t been heard from either, but the Arkham Knights were much too organized to be leaderless. Someone was giving orders and they knew who it was. They just didn’t know _where_ he was.

Nightwing had considered Jason’s childhood home, but he knew Jason would not be foolish enough to return there. There were plenty of places to hide in the Bowery, and he and Jason were trained by the same man. If any of them wanted to hide, it would be nearly impossible to find them. Hell, they hadn’t even been able to find Black Mask yet.

“Any idea what happened? What made Jason do...all this?” Nightwing asked without taking his eyes off the city. Arsenal snorted and crossed his arms over his chest.

“Yeah. I had a run in with him before he disappeared. Poor Chloe has been missing her daddy,” Arsenal answered with a grin. He exchanged glances with Nightwing then cleared his throat and continued “Jaybird was all set to move on. To stop killing except under certain circumstances. But he needed to kill Steven Drake. Batman not only stopped him...but he let Drake get away.”

“And knowing Bruce, he was probably completely and utterly insensitive and tactless about the whole ordeal. Ugh,” Nightwing muttered, pinching the bridge of his nose. Arsenal snickered in amusement. Nightwing didn’t agree with Jason killing Drake, but Bruce wasn’t exactly...understanding.

Their thoughts were interrupted, however, by the sounds of gunfire ringing out in the distance. The two vigilantes exchanged lookes before quickly jumping into action. Nightwing called for his wing glider and dived off the roof, grabbing a hold of it.

“Arsenal!” he called, before the man joined him. They flew over head, looking down at the city below to find the source of the commotion. They spotted it from above, Steven Drake’s gang engaging the Arkham Knights in a failed attempt to try and sneak Drake out of the city.

“There!” Nightwing called, dropping from the glider and shooting a line to a nearby building, Arsenal following his lead. They landed on the ground below and that’s when they saw a car, with Drake in it, trying to make an escape, tearing down the street. Nightwing looked up and did a double take, because he saw on a building across the way, The Red Hood, armed with a rocket launcher.

He fired it at Drake’s car, and a hook struck the car, killing the engine. Hood jumped down from the building and approached the car while Drake scrambled out of it to make an escape. The driver jumped out of the car, armed with an automatic rifle, but Hood fired a single hand gun round into his head.

“You’re mine, Drake!” Hood called, chasing after him. Nightwing turned to Arsenal and the two men nodded, following after them both. From the other side of the Bowery, they also saw the batmobile, skidding to a stop, Batman jumping out from the car.

“Batman!” Nightwing called. Batman looked in their direction before he began to pursue The Red Hood. None of them got far, however, before they found themselves surrounded by Arkham Knights.

“Halt! You’re not getting passed,” one of them shouted, guns trained on the three vigilantes. One of them, dark paramilitary gear, strode forward, assault rifle in hand. He looked over his shoulder at the rest of the Knights, then turned his attention back on Batman, Arsenal, and Nightwing.

“I am the The Red Hood’s second-in-command. He’s a hero, and he has a score to settle with Drake. You’re not going to get in the way,” the man said in a matter-of-fact tone. He turned to his men, then back to Batman.

“He personally saved each and every one of us from our own personal darkness. We owe him much, and we are prepared to die for him. Tell me, Batman, do you command such loyalty?” the man asked haughtily, earning chuckles of amusement from his fellow knights.

“He does,” Nightwing said evenly, stepping forward. The men seemed intrigued by this, but their leader seemed disinterested. Nightwing was not deterred however and continued “please, we don’t have to fight. We want to help him.”

“Your help is not wanted. The Bowery belongs to the Arkham Knights and you’re trespassing on our territory. Get out,” the man growled. He touched the communicator at his ear, then turned and nodded at his men.

“Pull back. The mission is accomplished,” he said evenly. He tuned back to Batman, Arsenal and Nightwing and glared, adding “we were given orders not to harm you. You’re free to leave, just don’t come back.” And with that, the Arkham Knights disappeared into the shadows.

Arsenal and Nightwing looked to Batman, who stood statuesque, staring in the spot where the Arkham Knight’s second-in-command was standing just moments before. Jason had threatened to kill him, had he gotten in the way again, and yet...he had ordered his men not to harm him...?

“Bats-” Arsenal called, trying to get his attention. Batman glanced over at Arsenal, but said not a word, instead hopping in the batmobile and racing off down the street. Arsenal and Nightwing exchanged confused glances.

* * * * *

Dick and Roy arrived at the batcave, still garbed in their gear, sans the masks and found Tim training against some dummies and Bruce sitting at the bat computer.

“Hey Timmy, what’s up?” Roy called, giving the teen a wave. Tim glanced up at Roy and Dick, flashing a smile.

“Just training. Bruce won’t let me go out on patrol with him,” he said with a frown.

“Jason is dangerous,” Bruce said without looking from the screen. Dick frowned, tempted to make a smart ass comment, but he resisted the urge. He heard Roy snickering beside him and looked over at the man.

“What’s so funny?” he asked. Roy snorted.

“You are. So in love with little Jaybird,” he teased, making him blush. Did Roy really pick up on his irritation with Bruce’s comment? And he thought he was good at concealing his reactions...

“What’s going on Bruce? Why did you just bail like that?” Dick asked, stopping behind the man. Bruce didn’t answer, which annoyed him, so he leaned against the back of the chair.

“Hey!”

“Jason threatened to kill me if I got in his way again. His orders to his Knights contradict that,” Bruce said evenly.

“Yeah, and? I think we all know by now, that despite how pissed off at you he is, he doesn’t want to actually kill you.” Roy pointed out.

“They were ordered not to harm us, me included, at all though,” Bruce added. Roy and Dick exchanged glances, because yeah, that was a little odd.

“So...?” Dick asked, confused. Bruce turned in the chair to look at the three of them.

“I don’t think Jason is actually going to kill Drake. I think-”

“You’re right,” came Jason’s voice from the computer. They spun around to see Jason on the screen, in his Red Hood gear. He pulled off his helmet and frowned.

“What? I can hack computers too, y’know. Just because I prefer the more hands on approach, doesn’t mean I’m an idiot.” Roy just grinned and Dick chuckled in amusement, crossing his arms over his chest.

“No one ever said that, Jaybird. It’s good to see you.”

“Jason-” Bruce began, but he interrupted.

“Shut the fuck up and listen,” Jason snapped. Bruce gave a glare, but Jason didn’t react to it.

“I’ve had a little time with Drake,” Jason said evenly, moving the camera to the beaten and bloody Steven Drake on the floor, unconscious.

“Is he-” Dick began, swallowing hard.

“He’s alive. And he’ll stay that way under one condition,” Jason said slowly, looking directly at Bruce.

“You have to promise me, Bruce,” Jason began, attracting Bruce’s attention. Bruce looked up at his son, their eyes meeting as he continued “you have to promise me he’ll go to prison, and stay in prison. Because so help me god, if he gets out, then I promise, I’ll kill him.”

The three of them exchanged surprised glances, then turned their attention back on Jason.

“I’ll do everything I can-”

“Not good enough. I want a _promise_.”

“I promise,” Bruce said with a slight nod. Jason gave a sigh, hand raking through his hair. A groan sounded from behind him. Jason turned to see Drake coming to. He snorted and grabbed a baseball bat.

“Go back to sleep,” he said evenly, striking Drake and knocking him back out. Both Roy and Dick snorted with pressed laughter. Jason turned back to the camera, a grin on his face.

“Anyway, got to talking with Drake. He’s one of Black Mask’s top men, solely because he controlled the largest swath of the Bowery. So instead of waging a long, drawn out war, Black Mask brought him under his control,” Jason began explaining. Dick, Bruce and Roy’s eyes all lit up, knowing immediately what he was getting at.

“The reason we haven’t been able to find Black Mask at all is because he isn’t in Gotham at all,” Jason said with a grin. They seemed confused again, save for Dick. Jason grinned wider, looking directly at him, seeing the glint in his eyes.

“Care to enlighten them Dickie-bird?” Jason asked with a cocky grin on his face.

“Black Mask is in Bludhaven,” Dick said evenly. Bruce and Roy both turned to him and Dick cleared his throat to explain “while I was gone, there was an increase in gang violence. Some f the small gangs in Bludhaven have been assimilated into a larger one. I think Black Mask is operating out of Bludhaven.”

“Exactly.”

“But if you’re going, you’re going to operate on _my terms_. Bludhaven is _my_ city. Do you understand me, Jason?” Dick asked sternly. Jason raised his hands defensively.

“Fine, fine. I just have one, tiny request.” There was a pause as everyone waited for it, then Jason looked at Bruce and said “I don’t want _him_ involved.”

“Jaybird, aren’t you being a bit childish?” Roy said with a slight laugh. Jason snorted.

“I don’t fuckin’ care. He’s an asshole.” Bruce pinched the bridge of his nose and Dick shook his head. Roy laughed and Jason grinned and said “besides, someone needs to stay in Gotham in case shit goes down. May as well be the bat.”

A silence descended upon the cave, Bruce’s answer coming in but a simple nod. Dick looked back and forth between Roy and Jason.

“Meet me at my apartment in Bludhaven. We’ll figure out what to do from there,” Dick said evenly, taking his leave from the cave. Roy and Jason watched him go, then Roy turned to the screen and gave Jason a look.

“Shut up Roy,” Jason said flatly, earning a grin from the man.


	15. Bludhaven

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jason and Roy arrive in Bludhaven and begin planning with Dick about how best to track down Black Mask. Roy, however, has plans of his own.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Blagh, forgive the shitty title. I couldn't think of anything better. x)

Jason and Roy made their way to Bludhaven separately because Jason insisted on taking his motorcycle. The drive to Bludhaven wasn’t long, maybe half and hour at best. Jason, for his part, took one good look at Bludhaven and could see instantly why the city was oft referred to as “Gotham’s Sister.” It was every bit as dark, gloomy, and depressing as Gotham.

“Well, well, well, it’s like I never left home at all,” Jason said to himself. A few more minutes and the two men found themselves pulling up to Dick’s apartment building. Jason chained up his bike, then made his way into the building. He glanced over at Roy, who had Chloe walking beside him. The dog rushed over to Jason, whining at his feet, tail wagging. Jason laughed and knelt down to pet the dog. 

“She missed you, Jaybird,” Roy said with an amused grin. Jason snorted, glancing up at Roy before putting his attention back on Chloe.

“I can see that,” Jason replied. The two of them headed inside with Chloe in toe. They came to Dick’s apartment and a gave a knock. A few moments of silence and then the door swung open. Dick, dressed in jeans and a dark blue t-shirt.

“Hey guys. C’mon in,” Dick said with a slight smile, gesturing to the inside of his apartment. Jason and Roy made their way inside, Chloe behind them, stepping down a short set of stairs and into the main apartment. Chloe stopped in front of Dick, tail wagging until Dick knelt down to pet her.

“Hey there! What’s-”

“Chloe. Her name is Chloe,” Jason replied, looking around the room. It was a bit messy, but spacious, the living room was huge, with a small kitchen across the way. Jason and Roy sauntered inside, checking the place out. He had a full entertainment center all set up in the living room with some rather nice looking furniture, to which Jason made himself at home, flopping down on the couch and propping his feet up on the coffee table.

“Wow, nice place Dickie-bird,” Jason said with a grin. Dick snorted and swatted at Jason’s leg, making him take his feet off the table.

“Thanks. It’s nothing special-” he began, interrupted by a snort from Roy.

“Nothing special, huh? This is like a five star hotel compared to our place,” Roy replied. Jason snickered, but nodded in agreement. Dick just gave a shrug and slipped into the kitchen.

“You guys want anything? I already took the liberty of ordering a pizza,” he called. Roy flopped down on the couch just as Jason got up and moved over to the bookshelf across the room, checking out the books.

“We’re here on business, Dick,” Jason replied, grabbing a book and moving back across the room to flop down into an arm chair. Dick came out of the kitchen with a couple of beers for Roy and Jason and just a bottle of water for himself. 

“Yeah, I know. But how often do we get together like this anymore?” Dick asked with a small smile, tossing the beers to each of them. Jason and Roy caught them effortlessly and cracked them open,

“Find something you like, Jaybird?” Dick asked, making himself comfortable on the couch. Jason looked up from the book he was reading, _Pride & Prejudice_, and cocked an eyebrow, but otherwise didn’t answer. Dick chuckled in amusement and commented “still a bookworm at heart, huh, little wing?”

Jason blushed at the use of the old nickname and Roy snorted, nearly spewing his beer everywhere.

“Little wing?” Roy asked. Jason sent him a glare.

“Shut up Roy,” Jason snapped. Dick just laughed in amusement, earning a glare from Jason, followed by a flying book, which Dick easily avoided. Moments later, a knock came at the door and Dick excused himself to go answer it. Roy followed him with his eyes, then turned to Jason.

“Now would be a good time to-”

“No.”

“Jaybird, you-”

“No.”

“But-”

“I said no. We’ve already had this discussion one hundred times before, Roy,” Jason snapped, blush spreading a bit, because he knew what Roy was trying to say, before he could even say it. He wanted him to talk to Dick about...his feelings for him. 

Dick returned, pizza, napkins and paper plates in hand and placed it on the coffee table.

“Help yourselves,” he said cheerily, grabbing a slice out of the box. 

“Thanks Dickie-bird. Sure know the way to a man;s heart,” Jason said jokingly, flashing a grin and wink as he dug into the pizza. Dick blushed crimson and Roy snickered in amusement as he grabbed a couple slices. He glanced over at Jason, another of those ‘looks’ on his face. Jason just glared at him and Roy suppressed another snicker.

The three of them ate, and drank, trading jokes and friendly barbs. So far, they hadn’t talked much at all about the actual reason they were here; finding and stopping Black Mask. That was, until the pizza was gone. Silence settled over the room for a time, nobody seemed willing to speak. Finally, Dick cleared his throat and leaned forward in his seat.

“I think our best bet is to just let me investigate this,” Dick began. Jason snorted and waved his hand dismissively.

“And what about us? I didn’t come here to relax, Dickie,” Jason replied. Dick frowned and shook his head.

“I know. Let me finish. I was saying you should let me, Nightwing, investigate. We can’t have Nightwing, The Red Hood, _and_ Arsenal all running around Bludhaven,” Dick said, shifting in his seat. He grabbed his water bottle and took a swig from it before he continued “that’d be far too suspicious. It’d tip off Black Mask and make him go further underground, or move somewhere else. We’d never find him.”

“He’s got a point, Jaybird,” Roy conceded. Jason snorted and sat forward a bit, elbows on his knees, steepling his fingers.

“And what do you propose Roy and I do in the meantime?” Jason asked. Dick put on a thoughtful expression on as he considered some possibilities.

“I can work one of you into Bludhaven. Spread some rumors about a rival of the Arkham Knights trying to muscle their way into Gotham from Bludhaven. But Arsenal will be a problem. Like I said, if the three of us are all seen running around Bludhaven all at once, it’s going to look suspicious,” Dick answered. Roy waved his hand dismissively.

“It’s cool. I have a few contacts here in Bludhaven I can hit up.” Roy replied. Dick quirked an eyebrow and Roy’s expression turned to one of shame.

“I, er...they’re from my past. A part of my life I’m not exactly proud of. Can we just leave it at that?” Dick gave a nod and the three men went silent again.

“While you guys are here, you can take my room.”

“What? No, we’re guests, we’ll take the damn couch,” Jason replied. Dick flashed a smile, but shook his head.

“Well, uh...I only suggest it...because um..you two...uh,” Dick rambled a bit, face burning red. Roy and Jason glanced back at each other and laughed.

“Dickie, we’re not together, you idiot,” Jason replied. Dick cleared his throat and shook his head.

“That’s not what I meant. I meant that-”

“Oh, he’s referring to the fact that we fuck each other,” Roy said easily, and shamelessly. Jason frowned and shook his head.

“We haven’t fucked in like, a week or so now.”

“Besides, I’m sure Jaybird would rather share a bed with you Dick,” Roy put in with a seductive grin. Dick blushed crimson and Jason shot him a murderous glare, throwing a beer can at him. Roy laughed and ducked out of the way, jumping over the back of the couch.

“But I’d bet that bed is pretty big. Maybe we could have a three-way. I’ve always wanted to see that legendary ass,” Roy added, eyebrows wiggling. Dick snorted, covering his beet red face with his hands and Jason laughed out loud.

“You’re a fuckin’ pig, Harper,” Jason said with a laugh. Roy just grinned wider, sticking his tongue out at the other man, and Dick finally looked up to laugh at their interaction.

“Are you two always like this?” he asked amusedly. Roy and Jason exchanged glances, then looked back to Dick and nodded.

“Pretty much yeah.”

“When Jason isn’t shoving his cock down my throat,” Roy put him, making Dick’s blush return again. Jason snorted and shook his head, reclining in his chair and propping his feet up on the table.

“You’re done, Dickie. Now that Roy knows what makes you blush like a virgin, he’s gonna keep pressing that button now.” Dick groaned and covered his face again and Roy laughed in amusement, moving to stand beside Dick, patting his back.

“No worries. If it makes you feel better, I can make Jaybird over there turn a cute shade of pink too,” Roy said with a grin, earning a ‘fuck you’ from Jason. 

After their laughter died down, they settled on sleeping arrangements. Roy settled into the chair, which turned out to be a damn comfortable recliner and Jason took the couch, while Dick went into his room. As for Chloe, she found a comfortable spot beside the couch, close to Jason to sleep at.

Unfortunately for Roy, sleep didn’t come easy. His thoughts were stilling running wild, and jealousy was prime amongst them. Jealousy, because he was still in love with Jason, and they were at Dick’s apartment. Dick Grayson, the person Jason really loved. But Roy was determined not to let that jealousy get the best of him.

He laid in the chair most of the night, thinking. He was still so very much in love with Jason, but for the sake of their friendship, he didn’t pursue him. He remembered something Jason had once said: _It’s a load of bull to think of friendship and romance as being different. They’re not. They’re just variations of the same love. Variations of the same desire to be close._

It made a certain kind of sense. Roy still wanted to be close to Jason, even if they could only be friends. And he wanted Jason to be happy. Roy rolled over a bit to look at Jason, who was sound asleep on the couch. He wanted Jason to be happy, but sometimes, it seemed that Jason didn’t want Jason to be happy. He rolled over again and looked toward Dick’s bedroom. Jason loved Dick, and he knew Dick loved Jason. And yet they refused to broach the subject around each other.

So Roy decided he’d pull a move from Barbara Gordon’s playbook and ‘help’ them. Whether they wanted it or not. Roy rolled over on his back, looking up at the roof. It was going to hurt like hell, hooking Jason up, the person he loved, with someone else. But he loved Jason enough to let him go, to help him be happy. And who knows, Jason might be right; maybe there was someone out there for him, just waiting to be found.

* * * * *

Morning came as Dick shuffled out of his bedroom to find a sight that, well, to put it bluntly, really turned him on. Jason, wearing naught but a pair of black gym shorts and some sneakers, was doing push-ups in the middle of the living room, with an equally undressed Roy Harper laying on Jason's back, reading a book. 

They hadn’t noticed him yet, which was good, because Dick was too busy ogling Jason. He watched the way the sweat glistened on the man’s body in the sunlight from the window,the way his muscles flexed underneath his skin, and his legs-

“Morning Dickie-Bird. Like what you see?” Roy called with a cocky grin. Dick blushed crimson and hurried past them both to the kitchen to make coffee. He didn’t utter a single word, and neither did Jason. When he was out of earshot, Roy tossed the book aside and glanced down at Jason out of the corner of his eyes.

“So Jaybird-”

“No.”

“Shut up and listen.”

“No, Roy.”

“I’m gonna say it anyway,” Roy replied with a smirk. Jason huffed in annoyance, doing one final push up before he shoved Roy off his back and moved into a sitting position.

“You need to talk to Dick, Jason. You both need to talk to each other. You’re both being stupid,” Roy said honestly. Jason grabbed the nearby towel and dabbed his forehead with it, glancing over at Roy before he pushed himself up onto his feet.

“There’s nothing to talk about.”

“You still think he’s too good for you?”

“He is. Now drop it,” Jason snapped. Roy huffed in frustration as he watched the man go. _This is going to be harder than I thought._


	16. The Game of Love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roy and Barbara have been conspiring against Dick and Jason...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The title, if you're wondering is indeed based on a song, which I would recommend listening to, because it's amazing. Santana-The Game of Love <3
> 
> Also, this chapter was very, very easy to write. I've had this scene playing out in my head, since probably the very first chapter of Forged in Fire was written. So this chapter is the first thing I've actually had planned out long in advance. ~_~ So pretty much the last 5 months, I've had this scene knocking around my skull. xD 
> 
> Anywho, enjoy ^^

The day kicked off with everyone going their separate ways and getting to work on finding Black Mask. Dick went on about his work at the BPD where he could get inside information about all the gangs in Bludhaven, to see if he could find a trail leading back to Black Mask. Roy went down into the city to see his ‘contacts’ and Jason stayed at the apartment, having little to do. Instead, he opted to contact Barbara, which was convenient since Batman apparently asked Oracle to help them.

Most of the day was spent tracking down leads, following clues, and investigating every possible angle. Black Mask had taken great pains to hide himself, as evidenced from their search back in Gotham. Of course, Roy had other plans on top of searching for Black Mask, plans he wasn’t yet ready to reveal. 

Until they returned to the apartment that night...

“Heya, I got food!” Roy called, kicking the door closed with his foot and raising a couple of bags of take out. Dick and Jason looked up from where they were sitting, Dick from the couch and Jason from his place on the floor, doing sit-ups.

Roy moved into the kitchen and started unpacking the bags. He looked over his shoulder, grinning at Jason. Curious, the man pushed himself up off the floor and moved into the kitchen.

“What’re you grinning like an idiot for?” he asked, quirking an eyebrow. Roy chuckled slyly before handing Jason two chili dogs. Jason’s face lit up as he unwrapped them.

“Oh my god dude, you’re my hero,” Jason said, taking a bite out of one of them and making an exaggerated ‘mmm’ sound. Dick chuckled in amusement as he glanced up from where he was sitting.

“Wow, all grown up and still in love with chili dogs, huh Jaybird?” Dick asked amusedly before joining them in the kitchen, Roy tossed him a couple chili dog and then threw out the bag.

“Damn straight!” Jason replied, talking with his mouth full.

“What about you?” Dick asked Roy. Roy gave a shrug and headed for the door.

“I’m good. Ate on the way here. Besides, I gotta meet someone about a lead,” Roy replied, disappearing behind the door. Dick and Jason took seats at the table, silently munching away at their food. That was until they heard a series of loud locks, locking shut. The two men exchanged glances and jumped from their seats, preparing for...who only knows what, when Dick’s phone went off. Curious, he fished it out of his pocket and hit talk.

“Hey Dickie, put me on speaker, yeah?” came Roy’s voice. Dick hesitated before doing as he was told, placing the phone on the table. Jason flashed him a confused look and Dick just shrugged in response.

“Is the speaker on?” came Roy’s voice again.

“Yeah. Now mind telling us what the fuck is going on?” Jason asked in an annoyed tone.

“Oh good! Well, now that you can both hear me, you and Dickie are going to have a little talk about a certain subject you both keep avoiding!” Roy said in an eerily cheery tone. Dick and Jason blushed as they exchanged glances, a blush which faded quickly on Jason’s part.

“God dammit Roy, what the fuck?!” Jason snapped, glaring at the phone so hard, it would have exploded had he had the power.

“The sooner you guys talk, the sooner the locks open,” Roy added, both Jason and Dick practically _hearing_ the smirk on his face.

“Roy...what’d you mean?” Dick asked carefully. Roy chuckled in amusement.

“Did you really think I was just out tracking down leads? God no! I took a little trip to Gotham and conspired with Babs!” he admitted. Dick and Jason exchanged another look, a glare, then both glared down at the phone as Roy went on “she gave me these fun toys she was working on. High tech locks places on all your doors, windows, secret entrances, yadda, yadda, yadda. Until you guys talk, you’re stuck in there. Y’know, unless you wanna break a window.”

“Roy, if you think a couple of chili dogs are going to save me from kicking your ass all the way back to Gotham-”

“Have a fun chat you two!” Roy called and the call ended with a _click_. Another glance was exchanged between Dick and Jason. Dick sighed, raking his hands through his hair, but Jason stormed out of the kitchen and flopped down onto the couch, refusing to play their little game. He flipped on the tv, which was tuned into some crummy reality tv show. Until the screen went fuzzy, and then Barbara’s face appeared.

“Oh hey Jaybird! You and Dickie talked yet?” she asked sweetly. Dick, having heard her voice, came out of the kitchen and shot her a glare.

“Barbara, what the hell?” Dick snapped. Barbara giggled a bit and waved her hand dismissively.

“Oh this? This is nothing. You should see what I can do with a circuit board and a couple pieces of wire,” she replied. She cleared her throat and continued “right, well. Roy and I have both decided we’re sick of you two being dumb asses around each other. So go on, start talking! You’re free to leave once you have. And we’ll know. Bye!” she said sweetly, as the tv show snapped back on.

Dick sunk down into the arm chair and Jason, the couch, both of them sitting in silence. And there they say, silent, unmoving, for a good five minutes. Dick finally cleared his throat, looking at Jason, who remained statuesque.

“Jason-”

“No.”

“Jaybird, we...we need to talk. They’re right. We’ve...been avoiding it-”

“There’s nothing to talk about. I get it, you love me. But I don’t love you,” Jason snapped, that last sentence like fire on his tongue, because he knew it was a lie. What was worse, was he could see how it hurt Dick. The man flinched at the words, and his face briefly betrayed the sadness and hurt he felt. Dick was good at concealing his emotions, but he was still human. That brief glimpse of pain was like a knife in Jason’s gut. 

“I...” Dick began, swallowing a lump in his throat. What if Barbara was wrong? What if Jason really _didn’t_ love him? If he confessed again, told Jason how he really felt, poured his heart out to him, it’d hurt like a knife in his heart to hear those words again; _I don’t love you._

Another silence permeated the air, Jason’s words rendering Dick too afraid to speak. Jason sighed heavily, raking his hands through his hair. Babs and Roy were never going to let up about this...

“I’m sorry Dick,” Jason muttered. Dick looked up at the words, Jason hunched over, hands clasped and chin resting on his hands as he stared down at the floor “I lied...I do...like...you, but-”

Dick’s heart swelled at the words, but that feeling of utter happiness faded just as quickly as it came. He said _like_ not _love_ And then there was that other word that was often followed by some rather bad and/or depressing news. _But...?_

Jason sighed again and pushed himself up off of the couch, pacing across the room, uttering swear words under his breath. Dick waited, watched, patiently, not sure what to say or do.

“Dick, I don’t want...no, that’s not right,” he muttered, face tinting pink as he struggled to find the words “I...care...about you.” Jason stopped pacing, looked Dick right in the eye. Dick could see the sincerity in his eyes, and that feeling of utter happiness came back. His expression brightened, but faded yet again, because Jason had this despaired look on his face.

“Jaybird?” he asked softly, getting to his feet.

“We can’t be...together. I don’t want to.”

“But why?”

“Because...because we just can’t, okay?!”

“Jason,”

“Just leave it, Dick.” Dick approached the man and gently touched his shoulder.

“Why won’t you tell me why?”

“Because I’m not good enough for you, okay?!” Jason snapped angrily, slapping Dick’s hand away and stalking across the room. Dick turned on the spot, following the man with his eyes. He was stunned by the revelation; Jason didn’t think he was good enough? He wanted to say something to disprove that, to show Jason he was wrong, but all he could manage was “what?”

Jason turned to look at Dick, that tough guy facade back in place as he shook his head.

“You’re the ‘Prince of Gotham’ and I’m just...a street rat, okay?”

“Jay, you’re more than-” Dick began, taking a few steps toward him, but Jason interrupted.

“No, I know what I am, Dick. I’m not ashamed of it either. Not anymore,” Jason said evenly, and Dick could see the truth of that in his eyes. Dick shook his head and approached Jason, slowly.

“Jason, do you think I really care what Gotham things of me? Of you?” Dick asked with a smile tugging at his lips. Jason snorted.

“No.”

“Then why do _you_ care?”

“I don’t.”

“Then why?” Another silence as Jason glanced up at Dick, arms crossed over his chest. He pinched the bridge of his nose and let out a frustrated sigh.

“You wanna know the truth Dickie? The real truth?” Dick was silent so Jason took that as his cue to continue “it’s because I’m a fuck up. My entire life is nothing but me making a fucking mess of my life, and of everyone else’s around me!” Jason’s voice rose as he spoke, anger building. But Dick could _feel it_. It wasn’t directed at him, but at himself.

“Jay-”

“The only time in my life I wasn’t fucking everything up, was when I was Robin! Okay, so maybe I disobeyed Batman a few times, and I wasn’t arrogant little bastard, but I was doing good! I was going to school, learning to read, and for once, I wasn’t some little fucking street rat punk, beating people up, or stealing, or-” Jason cut himself off, and glared down at the floor, fists clenching at his sides. Dick couldn’t think of anything to say. He searched for words, but he was left wanting.

Jason looked up at him again and shook his head.

“You’re the only person I...I’ve ever thought about...in this way. That I...cared about. I used to see you on the news, hear about you, and it started out as just...infatuation, I guess,” Jason went on, pacing again as he gave a dismissive hand wave. He snorted and went on “but you took the time for me, got to know me, you were _my brother_. You were _there_ for me. And you never _judged_ me, and somehow that turned into... _this_ -” Jason explained, gesturing to the space between them.

“You _don’t_ want me, Dick. I’m not good enough for you,” Jason said softly. Dick sighed and shook his head, closing the distance between them, grabbing Jason, carefully, by his arms.

“Isn’t that for me to decide too? My feelings are involved in this too, Jaybird,” Dick said softly, another one of those smiles on his face. Jason felt those butterflies in his stomach, followed by an overwhelming urge to kiss that god damn smile...to feel his soft lips against his. But he couldn’t. He pulled away from Dick and put distance between them again.

“I’m broken, Dick. I’m fucked in the head! Okay?! I thought that was pretty fuckin’ obvious when I first came back to Gotham with a fuckin’ militia group, trying to kill Bruce. Which, by the way, I still kinda don’t regret. He had it coming. Asshole,” Jason said, muttering the last bit and earning a laugh from Dick. Jason smirked a bit at that, but it faded quickly.

“I don’t regret what I did-what I’m doing as the Red Hood. Don’t get me wrong. Some people deserve a bullet in the brain,” Jason said darkly. Dick flinched at the severity in Jason’s tone. His ideals were directly opposite of his own; killing was wrong, it didn’t matter the circumstances. That’s what he was taught, trained to believe, raised to believe. But he also had to remember that Jason’s upbringing was...not good, to put it mildly.

“You can have anyone you want, Dick. Barbara, Zatanna, Kori, fuck, even Wally!” Jason said, a bit of irritation in his tone. Dick had to suppress a laugh, because Jason’s irritation was kind of adorable (not something he would ever say out loud, of course) “but you want me. The drug dealer, the punk, the bully, the...fucking sex toy-”

“The hero,” Dick filled in. Jason looked slightly surprised by that. _Hero_ is not a word he would have chosen to describe himself.

“Jason, whatever happened to you in your past, is in your past. I get it, your childhood sucked-”

“I was _raped_ , Dickie. _Sucked_ doesn’t even begin to fucking cover it,” Jason snapped, Dick flinched at the sudden outburst and Jason took a step toward him, looking angrier.

“And if...if you knew about my past...you wouldn’t be saying...any of this. You wouldn’t want me,” Jason said in a soft tone, a tone full of shame and regret. Dick felt his heart crack at the look on Jason’s face. The grown man standing before him, who was so dangerous and powerful, now looked so scared and vulnerable...much like that young teen he found trashing in his bed...

“I...Dickie...do you want to know why I wanted to kill Steven Drake?” Jason suddenly asked, drawing Dick’s attention. Dick didn’t answer or move, just remained silent as Jason spoke “because...because after I was raped...he started....selling me to other men.”

Dick didn’t seem fazed by the news, so Jason just assumed it had to do with his work as Robin and Nightwing. He pinched the bridge of his nose and forced himself to continue “I...was taken by so many men. And women. And...I didn’t have a choice. It was either that, or starve to death. Or if Drake was in a particularly foul mood...” Jason flinched at his own comment and Dick could see he was barely holding back his own rage at the mere _mention_ of Steven Drake.

“I...I know,” Dick finally admitted. Jason looked up at him in shock; how could he know?!

“After that night...the nightmare when I found out you were...y’know...I did some digging.” Jason stumbled back a bit, back hitting the wall. So Dick knew what a slut he was?! What a piece of fucking garbage he was?! Jason turned and punched the wall, fighting back the tears. Dick was the one person he never wanted to know about that. He didn’t want Dick to look at him and see a whore, a slut, a sex toy. And yet all these years, he _already knew._

He flinched when he felt Dick’s hand on his shoulder, but he didn’t turn around.

“I don’t care, Jason. It’s in the past, you did what you did to survive-”

“Don’t pretend to understand, Dick. Don’t give me your fucking pity,” Jason snarled, spinning around on the spot, a single tear rolling down his face as the memories of his abuse came back to him.

“You have no fucking clue-”

“Jason, I-”

“No idea! None!”

“I do, Jason! I understand-”

“How?! How the fuck does golden boy, the perfect son, understand?! Huh?!”

“Because I was raped!” Dick shouted. Shock spread across Jason’s face as he looked at Dick, the brief anger etched on his face, followed by a profound sadness. Dick shuffled over to the arm chair and sunk down into it, Jason following and sinking into the couch.

“I’m...not saying I fully understand what you went through...but I know what it’s like to feel powerless,” Dick said softly, staring down at his own hands. He took a shaky breath and looked up at Jason.

“A year or so ago...there was this woman, another vigilante” Dick heaved another sigh, scrubbing his face with his hands “long story short, there was this mess with a super villain, he drove me to near insanity. She killed him, and I...just let her. I was so wracked with guilt that when she...forced herself on me, I...I couldn’t...” Dick paused, bit his lip, staring intently down at his own two hands. His hands that _didn’t_ save Blockbuster, that _didn’t_ stop Tarantula from abusing him.

And Jason, for his part, just sat there stunned. To think that someone would hurt Dick Grayson like that, the way he’d been hurt...it brought back the memories from his childhood and it make him sick to think that someone he liked-no, _loved_ had been subjected to that...

“So,” Dick said softly, drawing Jason’s attention again “don’t...don’t call me perfect. Don’t say I don’t know. You had it worse, yeah but...Jason, I’m not a killer, and yet...I may as well have pulled that trigger myself.” Jason could see where this was leading; Dick was blaming himself, just like Jason blamed himself every time someone took him.

“I’m not perfect, Jason. I’ve made mistakes. Terrible mistakes, and the guilt of what I did, or rather, what I _didn’t do_...it still eats at me. And sometimes I think that...maybe I deser-”

“No, Dick. You didn’t deserve it. And neither did I,” Jason said softly. Dick looked up at Jason, could see the resolve in his eyes.

“Bruce used to teach us that the victim is never to blame. And we’re not, Dick.” Dick chuckled in amusement and Jason quirked an eyebrow.

“What’s so funny?”

“You, quoting Bruce,” Dick teased Jason frowned and crossed his arms over his chest.

“Yeah well, fuck you. This is the thanks I get for trying to make you feel better,” Jason said flatly, though his tone was as equally playful, which earned another laugh from Dick.

“Look, Jaybird, the whole point is, you’re _not_ too good for me. Nobody is perfect, especially not me. Don’t you think I should have a say?” Dick asked. Jason still seemed unconvinced. Dick sighed and raked his hands through his hair. He stood and started pacing a bit, glancing over his shoulder to see Jason doing the same.

Dick stopped and turned to Jason and smiled. Jason stopped his pacing and watched the man carefully.

“D’you know what I see, Jaybird?” Dick asked sweetly.

“A pervert and a criminal?” Jason joked with a smirk. Dick gave a low laugh of amusement and shook his head.

“No. I see a hero. I see someone who throws every ounce of themselves into everything they do. You’re so passionate about everything, helping people when they wouldn’t do the same for you,” Dick said smoothly. Jason shook his head.

“Shut up. That’s not who I am,” Jason replied, taking a threatening step forward. Dick’s smile brightened, undeterred as he continued.

“You are, Jason. You’re a hero-”

“Shut up!”

“You’re beautiful-”

“No, I’m not!”

“You’re smart and funny-”

“Will you stop?!”

“I wish you could see what I see Jason. I wish you could see how beautiful you are on the inside,” Dick said softly, the distance between them seemingly having just vanished. 

“Dick-”

“You’re a beautiful person, Jason. If only you could see it yourself, instead of your past. You’re beautiful and-”

“Shut up!” Jason shouted, shoving Dick into the wall, hard, pinning his arms above his head. Dick’s head smacked the wall but when he opened his eyes, Jason surged forward and kissed him, _hard._

Dick found himself at a loss for control, kissing back, their tongues dueling for dominance. Dick felt a a rough hand shove its way up his shirt, sliding over his skin. He moaned at the contact, arcing into the touch, desperate and needy. He wriggled his arms, trying to get free, but Jason’s grip was like iron.

Jason deepened the kiss, moaning softly into the kiss, his hand touching every bit of skin he could. Dick’s skin was hot under his touch, but soft, smooth, save for the occasional scar. When he finally parted from the other man, the two of them were panting struggling to catch their breaths. Jason leaned forward, releasing his grip on Dick’s wrists and burying his face in Dick’s neck, taking in his scent. Dick wrapped his arms around him, dared to pull him closer against his body, and Jason was like putty to his will, obeying without struggle.

“I love you, Jason. Regardless of hat you think of yourself, you’re so much more to me than a street rat,” Dick said softly in the man’s ear. Jason finally pulled away, looking directly into Dick’s eyes.

“Yeah, well...” Whatever smart ass reply Jason was going to utter, was lost when the sound of locks unlocking came. The door creaked open and Roy made his way inside, shit eating grin on his face.

“See? Now was that so hard?” Roy asked. Jason scowled and pointed at Roy, a threatening gesture.

“You...” Jason began, Roy still grinning from ear to ear. Jason growled a bit, then settled for grabbing a half empty beer can off the coffee table and lobbing it at him. Roy laughed in amusement and ducked, the can crashing against the door, beer spewing everywhere.

“You’re lucky you’re my friend, or I;d throw your ass down the stairs, drag you back up, and throw you back down again,” Jason hissed. Roy chuckled in amusement.

“Aw, I love you too, Jaybird!”


	17. Showdown

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nightwing, Red Hood and Arsenal have finally tracked Black Mask down. Now it's time to end it.

Dick and Jason decided to hold off on deciding what they...well, were until after the mission was over. Right now, they needed to focus. Roy and Barbara reluctantly acquiesced, because frankly, they’d made huge progress last night. At least they were finally acknowledging what was between the two of them. Anything else could come later.

Roy for his part, felt like he’d been stabbed in the heart, but he hid it well. Helping the object of his affection get with someone else...well, sucked was putting it mildly. Though he wasn’t as good at hiding it as he thought; he could see the way Dick and Jason would occasionally look at him. They knew, but they never asked, for which he was grateful. They were close to finding Black Mask and they didn’t need the distraction. If anything, the mission would give him something else to think about.

And at long last, their investigation bore fruit. They discovered that Black Mask was holed up at a safe house in Avalon Heights. And it as just as well, too, because Black Mask was making another power play in Gotham, and was pushing into Harley Quinn’s territory. The result was obvious; Harley pushed back and another gang war was on the verge of breaking out. 

On the bright side, the Bowery was left untouched. Jason contacted his Arkham Knights and found that a few gangs tried to muscle their way in, take over Drake’s operations, but after several failed attempts, only the Knights were left. He’d be lying if he didn’t admit that he was proud of what his men had accomplished. Originally, he’d intended to take over all of Gotham from the gangs, but the Bowery, which had little GCPD interaction and had been all but abandoned, was good enough.

So now, Nightwing, Red Hood and Arsenal were geared up and prepared to make a strike on Black Mask’s safe house. The three of them split up, scouting the area around the safe house to get an idea of the security that Black Mask had in place. It turned out to be minimal at best, judging from the few guards around the perimeter. It seemed likely that he didn’t think anyone would find him.

Nightwing, Red Hood and Arsenal all met back up at the top of a building just a short distance away from the safe house. Nightwing turned to his two friends, gave a silent nod, looked over his shoulder at the safe house, then back to Arsenal and Red Hood.

“Alright, look. Security seemed pretty minimal outside, but who knows what we’ll find inside. We need to be careful,” Nightwing said smoothly. Hood snorted, crossing his arms over his cheat.

“Careful is for drug dealers and punks. Black Mask requires a more...direct approach,” Hood replied slyly. Nightwing glared at him, pointing right at him.

“No killing. We disable them, knock them unconscious, whatever, but we don’t kill. Understood?” Nightwing said sternly. Arsenal snickered, earning himself a glare, and Hood sighed deeply, giving a shrug.

“Fine, fine. I suppose I’ll just have to make do with beating him senseless,” Hood replied in mock disappointment. Nightwing huffed in annoyance but couldn’t help the smile that crept onto his lips. He turned to look back down at the safe house, then back over his shoulder at Red Hood and Arsenal.

“Alright, let’s go,” he said smoothly, diving off the edge of the building. Hood and Arsenal approached, watching him swing and twist, basically showing off, into the night, They shared a glance before following suit.

The three vigilantes split up, sneaking through the shadows and disabling Black Mask’s guards swiftly and silently. Moments later, Oracle contacted them over their comm links.

“Sorry I’m late. Helping Batman with a case. I took the liberty of remotely disabling Black Mask’s security devices. You shouldn’t have a problem getting in now,” she said smoothly.

“Thanks Oracle,” came Nightwing’s voice.

“That’ll make beating his face in so much quicker and easier,” came The Red Hood’s voice, followed by a light laugh from Arsenal. Nightwing, Red Hood and Arsenal managed to sneak inside the building from different entry points, convening on what they assumed was Black Mask’s office. There they found the crime lord himself, sitting at his desk, back turned to them.

“You’re done, Mask. It’s only through Nightwing’s good graces that I don’t blow your ass away,” Hood said cockily, Arsenal training his bow on the man and Nightwing grabbing his escrima sticks. The man started to clap and slowly turned around.

“Well done. Well done indeed. It’s just a shame I was...expecting company,” Black mask said with a sick grin. Moments later, heavenly armed guards stormed the room and apprehended the three of them before they knew what was going on.

“What the-”

“You’re probably wonder how I knew you were coming,” Mask said evenly, rising to his feet and adjusting his white jacket. He grinned again and said “I got a tip from Penguin. The man knows a good deal when he sees one.” Black Mask rounded his desk and approached the vigilantes, then punched Nightwing in the face. Hood restrained himself, fought to conceal his reaction, because in that moment, he wanted to strangle Black Mask.

“Nightwing. Arsenal. The Red Hood. Three of my most hated enemies, all my bitches now,” Black Mask said haughtily. He stopped in front of Hood and punched him in the gut, then grabbed him by his throat.

“You and our Arkham Knights were especially a thorn in my side,” he said in a low growl, punching him again. Hood grunted in pain and doubled over, only to be yanked back up to eye level with Black Mask.

“I have to say though, I’m impressed. Assembled a skilled militia, systematically took over large swaths of Gotham, and you even managed to bring Penguin’s information network under your control,” he said with genuine praise. Then his smug grin came back and he said “but you still got your ass kicked by the bat. And now you’re my bitch.” He punched Hood again, then turned his back and moved back to his desk.

“Take ‘em out back and kill ‘em. Make sure The Red Hood dies extra slow.”

“Yes sir.” The men hauled the three vigilantes to their feet. Arsenal and Hood exchanged glances, and nods, and then Hood whipped his arm out to his side, a gauntlet hidden beneath his jacket sleeve popping up several blades. He spun on the spot and stabbed the man behind him, then used him as a shield as the others fired at their friend. That forced them to free the other two, who went after Black Mask.

“What’re you waiting for?! Kill ‘em!” Mask shouted, but Nightwing and Arsenal were on him while Hood pummeled his guards. Black Mask flipped his desk, and dashed out a side door, Nightwing and Arsenal in pursuit, jumping over the desk.

“You’re not takin’ me back to Gotham! I’m not going to prison! I’ll die first!” Black Mask shouted back.

“That can be arranged!” Arsenal called with a grin, knocking an arrow. But Nightwing swatted at it, making Arsenal miss his shot.

“No killing!” Nightwing snapped. Arsenal snorted but otherwise didn’t reply as they continued to pursue Black Mask. Nightwing glanced back over his shoulder where they’d left Hood. He prayed the man was alright. Those guards were pretty heavily armed...

But he didn’t have time to think about that, because Black Mask was getting away. The man turned a corner and as Nightwing and Arsenal followed, more armed guards met them in the hallway. Nightwing and Arsenal disabled them with ease before they continued their pursuit.

The found Black Mask, but he wasn’t alone. 

“Allow me to correct the mistake my men made!” he called, standing in front of the trunk of a car with a rocket launcher in hand. He fired it at them and the two of them dived out of the way to find cover, as the rocket struck the side of the building, exploding and killing three of his men in the process. Black Mask cackled before discarding the rocket launcher, then jumped into the passenger’s side.

“Drive!” he shouted, but before he could go anywhere, the tires flattened, several gunshots ringing in the distance. Nightwing and Arsenal pulled themselves from the debris and looked toward the source; Hood stood at the top of the building with his guns drawn.

“You’re not going anywhere, Mask,” he called, jumping down from the corner of the building before it collapsed. Black Mask attempted to escape, to make a run for it, but Hood pulled out a bolas and threw it. It struck its mark, tangling around Black Mask’s feet and tripping him up. He struck the ground with a grunt, followed by a string of curses as he sat up and tried to free himself. But when he looked up, The Red Hood stood over him with a gun pointed at his head.

“When you get to hell, tell the Joker that the Red Hood sends his regards,” Hood said darkly.

“No, don’t kill me!”

“Hood no!” Nightwing shouted. A gunshot sounded through the night air and Nightwing stopped in place, shocked. Black Mask, his eyes shut tight, whimpered as he sat waiting for the shot. When it came, he slowly opened his eyes and looked at the ground behind him where the shot landed.

“Fuck,” he muttered to himself. Hood chuckled in amusement and glanced over at Nightwing, giving a little wave.

* * * * *

Arsenal had retreated to the apartment to rest and recover. The explosion had sent him flying and he’d bruised a few ribs. That left Nightwing and Red Hood standing on top of a building, watching the BPD throw Black Mask into the back of a police cruiser.

“You killed those men, didn’t you?” Dick asked softly, turning away from the scene and peeling off his mask. Jason sighed and pulled of his helmet, giving a nod.

“I saw...you stabbed that guy and got him shot. You _killed_ -”

“Dick, they were going to _kill_ us!” Jason argued, pointing at Dick. Dick sighed, hands raking through his hair.

“You couldn've just disabled him! You didn’t have to kill him, or anyone else! Your promised me-”

“I’d play by your rules! And I did! Black Mask is still alive, isn’t he?!” Jason shouted back. Dick growled and stormed forward, roughly grabbing Jason by his jacket.

“You still killed people! I’m starting to think you can’t help yourself!” Jason gasped angrily and flinched away as if he'd been struck, shoving Dick away from him violently.

“Is that what you really think of me Dickie? That I’m some kind of fucking animal?!” Jason hissed angrily. Dick flinched when the words tumbled from his own mouth then shook his head at Jason’s accusation.

“No, Jaybird, I didn’t mean it like that, I-”

“Too fucking late. That’s how it sounded to me,” Jason replied, pulling his helmet on and turning his back.

“Honestly? It hurts...when you look at me like that. Talk to me like that,” Jason said softly. Dick stood there in silence, unsure of what to say. He was still processing everything himself, but he was ripped from his thoughts when the man went on “I did what I had to do to protect us. To protect you. If loving you, and wanting to keep you safe is a crime, if that makes me a...a _murderer_ ,” Jason said softly, practically spitting the last word onto the ground “then I’m guilty. Goodbye Dickie.” Jason pulled out a grappling hook and disappeared into the night, Dick following after him, calling for him, but he was already gone...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So...um...not how I imagined it ending, but this is sort of how it ended. x) Leaving the story open, because I'm not sure what to do next, honestly. I suppose I could start a third part in the series, do another chapter, or end it here. This seems like a good place to end it, me being evil and all. Mwuahahahaa. >:3
> 
> Drop a comment, let me know what you think. :)


End file.
